The invention relates to a turning apparatus for a production plant (2) for sanitary products, in particular adult or baby diapers, the turning apparatus having a drum (12) which rotates about a geometrical drum rotational axis (11), and at least one plate (14) which is spaced apart radially from the drum rotational axis (11) and is coupled to the drum (12), which plate (14) comprises a suction face (15) for the transport of sanitary material pieces (16), which suction face (15) holds the respective sanitary material piece (16) by means of a vacuum during the transport, the plate (14) having a geometrical vertical axis (17) which runs radially with respect to the drum rotational axis (11), the plate (14) receiving the sanitary material piece (16) with a first orientation about the vertical axis (17) in a first transfer region (18), and transporting the sanitary material piece (16) from the first transfer region (18) to a second transfer region (20) along a setpoint transfer path (19) which runs in the circumferential direction around the drum rotational axis (11), the suction face (15) being rotated with the sanitary material piece (16) about the vertical axis (17) during the transport, the plate (14) outputting the sanitary material piece (16) in the second transfer region (20) with a second orientation which is different than the first orientation about the vertical axis (17). It is proposed that, during the receiving and/or outputting, the plate (14) carries out a non-linear compensation movement relative to the drum (12) with a radial movement component.

A suction gripper for handling small piece goods, particularly pharmaceutical packages, is provided. The suction gripper is suitable for handling different small piece goods. The suction gripper includes a main element, a rotary drive arranged on the main element with an axis of rotation which is vertical in the starting position, an end-effector unit coupled to the axis of rotation, wherein the end-effector unit has a holding element, to which a suction arm holder is fastened, wherein the suction arm holder has at least two elongated suction arms which each have a suction head with a suction surface at their distal end, wherein the suction arms are designed such that a negative pressure can be applied to them. The suction arm holder is rotatably mounted on the holding element, and the suction surfaces of the suction heads are dimensioned differently for handling different types of small piece goods.

A robot is provided, which includes a base, a first robot fixed to the base at a base end thereof, and a second robot fixed to the base at a base end thereof. The first robot has a first robotic arm and a first robot hand attached to a tip end of the first robotic arm. The second robot has a second robotic arm and a second robot hand attached to a tip end of the second robotic arm. The first robot hand includes a conveyor, and the second robot hand includes a holding part configured to hold a workpiece. The second robot places the workpiece held by the holding part on a transferring surface of the conveyor of the first robot and releases the workpiece.

The present disclosure is directed to an adjustable joint for insertion into a linkage of a substrate handler utilized for substrate processing. The adjustable joint allows for adjusting the pitch and roll of an attached link. Such adjustment may permit aligning a pickup surface of an end effector to a desired plane. Once adjusted, the joint may be fixed to maintain the desired orientation of the attached link. The adjustable joint allows for correcting deflection of a pickup surface of an end effector relative to a desired pickup plane due to, for example, drooping caused by high temperature usage, mechanical tolerances and/or installation errors.

A robotic system includes a robot having a picking arm to grasp an inventory item and a shuttle. The shuttle includes a platform adapted to receive the inventory item from the picking arm of the robot. The platform is moveable between a pick-up location located substantially adjacent to the robot and an end location spaced a distance apart from the pick-up location. The system improves efficiency as transportation of the item from the pick-up location to the end location is divided between the robot and the shuttle.

According to an embodiment, a picking system includes a picking robot, a distance sensor, an analysis unit, a storage unit, and a robot controller. The picking robot includes a robot arm configured to grip and move an item according to a command including identification information of the item. The robot controller is configured to control a moving speed of the robot arm when the item passes through a measurement range in accordance with a determination of a determination unit configured to determine whether the identification information of the item gripped by the picking robot is included in a database stored in the storage unit.

A processing system including a singulation system is disclosed. The singulation system includes a conveying system for moving objects to be sorted from a source area along a first direction, a detection system for detecting objects at the conveying system, and for selecting certain selected objects for removal from the conveying system, and a removal system for removing the certain selected objects from the conveying system for providing a singulated stream of objects.

A carousel for transporting articles includes: a body rotated by a motor around a main axis, a stationary cam around the main axis and a plurality of transfer units mounted on the body to rotate around the main axis. Each unit includes a transfer element having a radially external portion to retain or release an article. The element is pivoted on the body around an auxiliary axis radial to the main axis and is coupled to the body to move along the auxiliary axis. The element is coupled to the stationary cam to rotate around the auxiliary axis. A pair of auxiliary cams is coupled to the element and integral with the body and auxiliary cam-followers are interposed between the element and the auxiliary cam to move on the auxiliary cams during rotation of the element around the auxiliary axis and move the element along the auxiliary axis.

A robot is provided, which includes a base, a first robot fixed to the base at a base end thereof, and a second robot fixed to the base at a base end thereof. The first robot has a first robotic arm and a first robot hand attached to a tip end of the first robotic arm. The second robot has a second robotic arm and a second robot hand attached to a tip end of the second robotic arm. The first robot hand includes a conveyor, and the second robot hand includes a holding part configured to hold a workpiece. The second robot places the workpiece held by the holding part on a transferring surface of the conveyor of the first robot and releases the workpiece.

An apparatus for inspecting a pharmaceutical cylindrical container made of glass or polymer is provided. The apparatus includes an inspection area, a handling device, and a friction wheel. The handling device has a first holder configured to hold a lateral surface of the pharmaceutical cylindrical container. The first holder includes a first support wheel and a second support wheel. The handling device moves such that the pharmaceutical cylindrical container is transferred from a first transfer position to the inspection area and from the inspection area to a second transfer position. The first holder and/or the friction wheel bring the pharmaceutical cylindrical container into contact with the friction wheel such that the pharmaceutical cylindrical container is rotated around a container longitudinal axis by rotating the first and second support wheels and/or by rotating the friction wheel.