Robotic technology in North America is moving in opposing directions, toward smaller more compact pre‐engineered packages and faster operating speeds and to reach more applications, into greater payload capacity and greater reach. Suppliers of end of arm equipment are matching the greater...

Purpose – This paper aims to present a review of the NPE 2006, Plastics Show held in Chicago, IL with emphasis on robots, their application in the plastics industry and end‐of‐arm‐tooling. Design/methodology/approach – In‐depth interviews with suppliers of robots, injection molding...