High-speed bin stacking & destacking with FR20 and passive gripper

Manual stacking and destacking of reusable blue bins used to be repetitive, fatiguing work that created bottlenecks during peak demand. In this project we automated the task with a FAIRINO FR20 collaborative robot and a very simple passive hook gripper. The hooks enter the four molded cut-outs in each bin; all holding force comes from the cobot’s motion profile, so there are no pneumatics or electrics on the tool. The FR20 approaches the stack, engages, lifts, transfers, and releases one bin at a time, keeping the sequence short and reliable while protecting the bins from damage.

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The result is a neat demonstration of how straightforward cobot automation can be for highly repetitive handling: stacks remain uniform, jams are reduced, and operators are freed up for higher-value tasks. Cycle time is consistent and throughput is stable over long runs. Thanks to the cobot’s reach and precision, placement is repeatable even when bin tolerances vary slightly.

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We selected the FR20 because it provides ample performance headroom for this duty: 20 kg payload, 1854 mm reach, ±0.1 mm repeatability, typical TCP speed up to 2 m/s, and IP54 (IP65 optional)—a robust fit for fast, accurate material handling with minimal maintenance.

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