The rise of robotic solutions and AI in the wide-format printing industry continues to drive productivity efficiencies and new opportunities, hence the tide of investment in both. In wide-format segment, it is the advancement of collaborative robots – or Cobots – that is starting to make the most noise: robots designed to work on the factory floor alongside people and use sensors to detect humans and avoid accidents. Let’s look at latest incarnation of the AGFA Onset flatbed series, which is the Panthera FB3216 with automated unloading. Most Cobots used in printing are robotic arms, bolted to a fixed position to allow them to handle heavy weights. In wide format they are most commonly used for loading and unloading boards and sheets from flatbed and hybrid presses.
Zünd has partnered with Danish firm RobotFactory, which develops both standard and customized robot handling solutions. These can be used for loading but also for picking and packing finished objects. When looking to enable fully automated loading for its Tauro XUHS and Onset Panthera FB3216 flatbed, Agfa went one step further and ended up buying Inca Digital, long since a proponent of robotics and who developed twin robots – the Max Bots – to automate the loading and unloading on these Agfa systems. Durst too has developed a robotic solution for its P5 family of wide-format hybrid presses. Mainly used with the P5 350 HS printer, which has the print speed to benefit from the robotic boost to productivity and therefore to justify the investment cost.
