Corrugated boxes of various sizes need to be aligned to one side of a conveyor so a robotic arm can easily pick them up and place them on a pallet. Push arms can arrange objects of equal size, but packages with differing dimensions pose a considerable challenge to proper alignment. If a package is pushed too far, it may fall off the conveyor. If it’s not pushed far enough, it may be missed by the robot arm.

As the corrugated boxes are pushed to one side of the conveyor, a Q20-2 Laser Measurement Sensor tells the push arm when to stop, ensuring proper alignment. Sensor data from the Q20-2 is sent via IO-Link® communication to the control system, which can use this data to account for varying package sizes and change the push arm's target distance on the fly. The two outputs on the Q20-2 can communicate two different pieces of information: one output provides the changing target distance while the other may be used to identify the push arm’s home position.