Supplier’s Marketplace

ABB robotics reveals new high-speed PoWa cobot family

Combining the flexibility of cobots with higher payloads and performance, ABB Robotics revealed its new PoWa cobot family into the rapidly expanding global collaborative robot market. ABB estimates that the market will grow by 20% annually through 2028. “Cobots are growing significantly faster than traditional industrial robots, driven by demands from both small and midsized companies starting their automation journey as well as large enterprises,” said Andrea Cassoni, head of collaborative robots at ABB, in a statement. “These customers are seeking higher speeds and payloads, but also greater ease of use and compact designs. Established manufacturers want to automate heavier, fast cycle applications without the complexity and operational rigidity of traditional industrial robots. We are meeting these needs with the global launch of our high-speed PoWa cobot family — a name that symbolizes its powerful, industrial-grade performance in a compact collaborative robot form.” This new cobot family addresses a long-standing gap in the market between traditional cobots, which often lack the speed and payload required for industrial applications, and conventional industrial robots, which are designed for highly specialized, large-scale automation environments, the company explains. PoWa extends the company’s comprehensive cobot offer with industrial-grade performance, including six different payload categories. The PoWa cobots are powered by ABB’s OmniCore controller platform, delivering best-in-class motion control, speed and precision, the company notes.

Marley Engineered Products launches explosion-proof unit heaters

High-performance heating and ventilation solutions manufacturer Marley Engineered Products announced the latest generation of explosion-proof unit heaters for food and beverage processing facilities. The heaters were designed under the esteemed QMark and Berko brands. They feature rugged construction and high-quality cold-rolled steel powder-coated cabinets to ensure long-lasting performance. The new heaters are built to endure the harshest of environments, including areas with a potential for explosion or fire due to the presence of flammable gases, vapors, pulverized dust or ignitable fibers in the atmosphere commonly found in food and beverage processing facilities, the company shares. The GUX Series from QMark and the RUX Series from Berko are both built to meet stringent safety standards for hazardous locations, it adds. The units are compliant with Class I, Zones 1 and 2, Group II, which make them ideal for a wide array of industrial applications. The heaters are equipped with advanced corrosion-resistant coatings and materials, which ensure durability and longevity in harsh conditions. “We are thrilled to introduce these advanced explosion-proof unit heaters to the market,” said Andrew Martin, manager of product management at Marley, in a statement. “Our design team has used their decades of experience and created products that not only meet the highest safety standards, but also deliver exceptional performance and durability in the most challenging environments.” The design team at Marley engineered the heaters to offer versatile solutions, tailored to projects’ specific requirements in those hard-to-reach areas, the company notes.

Identiv expands ID-Safe NFC tag portfolio

RFID- and BLE-enabled Internet of Things (IoT) solutions provider Identiv unveiled the expansion of its ID-Safe product family. This portfolio features advanced HF and NFC tags designed to support product authentication, tamper detection and secure traceability across pharmaceutical, healthcare, retail, food and beverage, electronics and smart packaging applications. Identiv shares that there is growing demand for solutions that can verify product authenticity, confirm package integrity and provide visibility across the product lifecycle as companies work to address rising counterfeiting, diversion and product fraud. The company’s ID-Safe portfolio addresses such challenges by combining NFC-based product identity with advanced tamper detection and secure authentication. By embedding secure NFC technology directly into tags, Identiv ID-Safe transforms product labeling into a digital trust layer, which enables companies to confirm that a product is genuine, verify that it has not been opened or altered and enable secure digital interaction using standard NFC-enabled smartphones or readers. “Trust in physical products can’t be assumed anymore — it has to be verified. ID-Safe brings together secure NFC-based identity, tamper detection and tamper-proof design to enable companies to confirm authenticity and product integrity at any point in the lifecycle, anywhere those interactions occur,” said Andreas Walsner, global vice president of sales at Identiv, in a statement. “It allows organizations to detect interference, prevent fraud and establish trusted product identity anywhere it matters — from manufacturing through the distribution to the point of use — while supporting secure, scalable deployment across real-world operations.”

E2Pack unveils EASYROCK

The new automatic pallet unwrapping system from E2Pack, EASYROCK, was developed to automate a stage that is often still handled manually in many production plants. This manual labor requires operators to use blades, cutters and even ladders to reach the upper part of the load. With E2Pack’s EASYROCK, this process is automated, improving safety, increasing consistency and supporting smoother integration into existing lines. EASYROCK is engineered for demanding product environments and is built to handle dozens of pallets per hour while maintaining stable, continuous operation. Its patented uptime-focused solutions are designed to minimize interruptions and support the level of continuity required in high-throughput manufacturing settings, E2Pack says. EASYROCK’s system automatically detects pallet dimensions, load configuration and workability, adapting the unwrapping cycle to different formats and load conditions. These factors make it suitable for a wide range of applications, E2Pack notes, including glass containers, cans, boxes and other packaged formats. Its cutting system is designed to preserve product integrity, while its compact footprint and high accessibility simplify cleaning and reset operations. These features are consistent with the official product description available on the company’s website. With the launch of EASYROCK, E2Pack expands its packaging automation portfolio with a system that combines practical engineering, industrial robustness, application flexibility and reliable long-term performance, it says.