The worldwide Red Dot Design Awards recognize excellence in product design. The jury - consisting of over 50 international design experts - reviews and evaluates thousands of entries every year. This year, it placed a special focus on products that stand out for their design and level of innovation - all attributes that have been incorporated into the development of the FlexPacker.

"I am delighted that we have received this prestigious award for the IRB 390 FlexPacker," emphasizes Marc Segura, Head of ABB's Robotics Division. "We have worked closely with our customers to develop a robot that enables us to meet the growing demand for shelf-ready packaged products. Our innovative solution combines speed, payload and dexterity, enabling our customers to make their lines more flexible. It also enables them to cope with increasing production volumes with small quantities, a high mix of variants and high payloads. With its clear, simple and modern aesthetics, the IRB 390 also inspires confidence among users."

The FlexPacker delta robot from ABB is designed for high-speed order picking with high payloads and for the efficient packaging of goods weighing up to 15 kilograms. During its development, particular attention was paid to shelf-ready packaging: It can therefore also align and sort products vertically, making it ideal for the food and beverage, pharmaceutical and consumer goods industries. The tilting axis of the five-axis version of the robot creates added flexibility and makes secondary packaging faster.

The FlexPacker's appearance also reflects its functionality: thanks to its white paint finish, the robot is not only aesthetically pleasing, but also easy to clean. Only a few horizontal surfaces and a simple, geometric shape prevent the accumulation of dirt and help it to work quickly and precisely.

In addition, the FlexPacker has two new joints that offer more degrees of freedom. These joints are the result of a fundamental redesign of the parallel arms of standard delta robots. They offer greater rigidity to withstand additional loads. This allows the FlexPacker to pick up more or heavier objects or use larger, more sophisticated grippers. The joints are sealed and therefore maintenance-free for the entire service life of the robot.

The FlexPacker delta robot is the third ABB robot to win the Red Dot Design Award - after the GoFa collaborative robot in 2021 and the YuMi collaborative two-arm robot in 2011. The FlexPacker is also the first delta robot to receive this prestigious award.