ABB FlexPicker Upgrade Handles Ultra-Fine Packaging with Adaptive Vacuum
By Maxine Shaw
Image: Image courtesy of Tingey Injury Law Firm via Unsplash
The adaptive toolhead senses surface porosity and adjusts suction in milliseconds, drawing on embedded pressure maps trained with machine learning. ABB says customers can swap cups without recalibrating PLC recipes.
Swiss chocolatier Lindt tested the upgrade on seasonal assortments, reporting a 12% drop in product damage during high-speed wrapping. Pharmaceutical packagers are piloting the tool for blister packs that previously required manual inspection.
ABB will ship retrofit kits early next year, and the vacuum hardware integrates with the company's OmniCore controllers. The upgrade also logs per-pick data so customers can prove compliance with traceability standards.
- ABB adds adaptive vacuum to FlexPicker lineAccessed NOV 06, 2025
- Lindt pilots ABB's new vacuum end-effectorAccessed NOV 06, 2025