Life Sciences

Automated Tray Handling in a Laboratory Environment

Flexible pharmaceutical and life sciences processes must be able to handle different types of containers safely. Vials, sample vessels and other small-format containers are often not moved individually, but grouped together in trays or racks. This is where automated tray handling comes in.

This application example shows a Stäubli robot with a STERIGRIP gripper from WEISS ROBOTICS. The gripper picks up a tray with vials from the side, moves it in a controlled manner between process positions and places it down again with precision.

This allows several containers to be transported in a single process step. It reduces manual intervention, supports reproducible workflows and creates the basis for flexible, hygienic handling in life sciences environments.

STERIGRIP provides secure handling at the end-of-arm tool, while the Stäubli robot ensures precise movement within the process. Thanks to GRIPLINK technology, Weiss Robotics gripping technology can be integrated into Stäubli robot systems and connected on the control side. The GRIPLINK VAL3 driver has been tested and verified by Stäubli.

The demo setup shows automated tray handling in an open laboratory environment. However, the gripping technology used is designed for significantly more demanding environments: STERIGRIP was developed for compressed-air-free handling tasks in aseptic clean applications and meets the highest pharmaceutical requirements with a cleanliness certification better than GMP Class A. This allows the demonstrated handling principle to be transferred to cleanliness-critical life sciences and pharmaceutical processes.