The machine manufacturer Schubert from Crailsheim, Germany, is setting a clear example in the field of automation: At Fachpack 2025, the company presented, among other things, a new cobot that combines compactness, efficiency, and user-friendliness. Schubert is thus demonstrating how modern cobot technologies can further advance production in the packaging industry.
Success story of the cobot family
“tog” - derived from the English word “together” - stands for automation solutions by Schubert that reduce the workload for operators. It all started in 2019 with a pick-and-place cobot developed by an international team of engineers as part of a start-up. The family has since grown and now includes additional solutions.
Cobot in standardized box erector
One highlight is a fully standardized, single-lane A3 box erector, which was presented for the first time as a stand-alone machine unit at the trade fair. It can be used in various packaging systems. Ralf Schubert explains the stand-alone approach: "The 100 percent standardized ‘tog.101’ box erector can guarantee high performance of up to 60 boxes per minute in various packaging systems." Its ease of use is particularly noteworthy. New box formats can be set up in a matter of minutes by entering parameters such as box dimensions and glue points.
This is complemented by a glue applicator developed in collaboration with Robatech, which precisely adjusts the speed of the glue-saving erector and the amount of glue applied. This means that only as much adhesive as is actually required is used, significantly reducing hot melt consumption compared to the industry standard.
One hour of uninterrupted operation thanks to vertical magazine
Another highlight is the newly developed vertical magazine. It holds up to 4,000 blanks, allowing the machine to operate for up to 60 minutes without interruption. The new solution is not only compact and powerful, but also highly efficient in practical operation.
Two worlds in one cobot solution
The “tog.519” is another member of the series and is not a classic collaborative robot. It works in a protective cell to enable consistently high performance. While typical cobots reduce their speed when people are nearby, this solution maintains full dynamics. At the same time, it offers the easy integration and quick commissioning that one expects from a cobot. With up to 90 cycles per minute, it achieves the performance of classic industrial robots.
Productivity according to the Scara principle
Schubert has been relying on robot-based pick-and-place solutions since the 1980s. In this development, the Scara kinematics were expanded to include a fifth axis, making the cobot even more flexible. It can not only grasp products straight, but also at an angle, and place them precisely in trays.
Cobot with artificial intelligence in image processing
For image processing, two 2D cameras supply the image data, which is merged into a 3D image using a neural network. This enables the cobot to reliably recognize the position of individual products, even if they are lying in a disorderly manner on the conveyor belt. The trained network also assigns the parts to appropriate packaging categories, which significantly increases the flexibility of the system.
