A case packing robot comprising a two dimensional articulated robot suspended from the top of a Cartesian gantry-type frame enclosure. All drive motors are fixed to the Cartesian gantry-type enclosure and all packing operations take place within the confines of the gantry frame structure that defines the operating envelope. Such a "hybrid" robot uses an open framework and all slanted or slantable surfaces that are easily sanitized thus providing all of the sanitary advantages of the most desirable articulating robots while supplying many of the operational and maintenance advantages of a Cartesian gantry-type robot, especially the ability to reach down into a packing container.