Moving heavy payloads from one point to another, has always been complex & risky, whether its inside a building or out in the open. It’s even harder when you need to be super precise about the points of pick up, drop & how the material is handled during this motion. This is exactly the use case for the advent of gantry robots, one of the most versatile & precise industrial robotic solutions, in fact one of the earliest innovations of the industrial automation & warehouse robotics saga. Today Gantry robots are a common sight across various industrial set ups such as factories, warehouses, manufacturing units..etc with multitudes of applications, offering numerous advantages.

In this blog post, we’ll dive into:

What a Gantry Robot is, what are its key features, what is the technology that powers these
automation workhorses, what benefits do they offer, and finally delve into their applications across
various industries.
So, to start with,

What is a Gantry Robot?

Gantry robots, also known as linear robots, are sophisticated robotic systems designed for precise and repetitive tasks in a wide range of industries. These robots feature a rigid, overhead structure that supports the robots movement, typically along two or more linear axes, allowing to perform complex & multi-dimensional tasks.

They are also used synonymously with cartesian robots, however, cartesian robots work on a single x-axis, whereas Gantry robots work on 2 x-axis planes.

What makes a gantry robot so unique?

Gantry robots, also known as linear robots, are sophisticated robotic systems designed for precise and repetitive tasks in a wide range of industries. These robots feature a rigid, overhead structure that supports the robots movement, typically along two or more linear axes, allowing to perform complex & multi-dimensional tasks.
They are also used synonymously with cartesian robots, however, cartesian robots work on a single x-axis, whereas Gantry robots work on 2 x-axis planes.

What makes a gantry robot so unique?

They have many unique capabilities, but to pick a few:

High Precision: Gantry robots offer exceptional precision and repeatability, making them ideal for tasks requiring accurate and consistent positioning. These robots often incorporate sensors and vision systems to ensure accurate positioning and adaptability in dynamic environments.

Customizability: These robots can be tailored to specific applications, with options for various work envelopes, payloads, and specialized tools.

Heavy-Duty Capabilities: Gantry robots can handle heavy loads and perform robust tasks, making them suitable for a wide range of industrial applications, from manufacturing to material handling.

Speed and Efficiency: Gantry robots can perform tasks rapidly and consistently, contributing to increased productivity and reduced production times. Gantry robots operate on liner axes as well as multiple axes, allowing them to perform complex and multi-dimensional tasks, while providing precise and controlled movement along predefined paths. One such provider for these multi-axes Gantry robots is Anzo Controls, one of the leading robotics companies, based out of Gurgoan, India. They specialize in building best-in-class products, such as SCARA robots, delta robots, gantry robots, AGVs, motion controls & drives, and a stack of warehouse software solutions.

Some of the industrial applications:

There are many varieties in Gantry robots, designed for various tasks from handling light weights to that of larger loads; let’s dive into some of the typical applications of these industrial robots:

• Material handling automation
• Palletizing/depalletizing
• Storage and retrieval process
• Sorting operations
• Assembly line
• Inventory management

A few industries where we find them include:

Tires: Gantry robots find many applications in the tires industry manufacturing assembly units such as- tire building, tire labelling & marking, tire handling & stacking, at quality & inspection units, tire testing stations and at shipping units. Basically, they are used at small precision functions such as applying labels/barcodes/markings on the tires to stacking tires one on top of the other, they are also used as pick & place robots to move tires from one point to another, are used as sorting robots for sorting application, and as palletizing & depalletizing robots, and also at loading & unloading stations.

Automobile: Gantry robots are used material handling robots in various critical applications,including automated assembly, welding, painting, material handling, inspection, glass installation, chassis and suspension testing, parts sequencing, sealing, inventory management, customization, and end-of-line testing. They contribute to increased efficiency, precision, and quality control in automobile manufacturing, ensuring vehicles are produced with consistency and adherence to safety standards.

FMCG: Gantry robots are used as pick & place robots in various functions, including packing, palletizing, material handling, quality inspection, labelling, sorting, picking and placing, end-of- line tasks, product mixing, and bulk material handling. They enhance efficiency, reduce labor costs, and ensure product consistency and quality throughout the production and distribution processes in the FMCG sector.

Whitegoods: Gantry bots are crucial for various applications such as assembly, testing and inspection, material handling, packaging, quality control, customization, end-of-line tasks, material cutting, and load/unload operations. These robots improve efficiency, consistency, and safety in the manufacturing and handling of appliances such as refrigerators, washing machines, and ovens.

Along with the above, they also find numerous applications in pharma, F & B, Logistics & Warehousing sector, 3D printing & additive manufacturing, CNC machining & woodworking etc.Gantry robots have redefined heavy payload handling, offering precision, adaptability, and high efficiency. With unique multi-dimensional linear motion, customizability, and heavy-duty capabilities, their significance in industrial automation is undeniable.

We will be covering a few more details on Gantry robots in the upcoming blogs, to keep updated subscribe to our blogs or reach out to us at info@anzocontrols.com