Palletizer

Robot Automation: Palletizing

Industrial palletizing refers to loading and unloading parts, boxes or other items to or from pallets. Automated palletizing refers to an industrial robotic palletizer performing the application automatically.
Robotic palletizing can be seen in many industries including food processing, manufacturing, and shipping.  Various end-of-arm-tooling styles allow flexibility of different types of palletization. Bag grippers encompass an item and support it on the bottom, while suction and magnetic grippers typically handle more ridged items and grip them from the top.
FANUC Robotics’ M-410 series features robotic palletizers with four axes and the ability to lift heavy payloads. Large horizontal and vertical reaches allow parts far and near, high or low to be reach and palletized

 

A palletizer or palletiser is a machine which provides automatic means for stacking cases of goods or products on to a pallet. The first palletizer was designed, built, and installed in 1948 by a company formerly known as Lamson Corp. There are specific types of palletizers including the row-forming which were introduced in the early 1950s. In row-forming palletizing applications loads are arranged on a row forming area and then moved onto a different area where layer forming takes place. This process repeats until a full layer of goods and products are configured to be placed on a pallet.

The in-line palletizer was developed in the 1970s when higher speeds were needed for palletizing. This palletizer type utilizes a continuous motion flow divider that guides the goods into the desired area on the layer forming platform.

Robotic palletizers were introduced in the early 1980s and have an end of arm tool (end effector) to grab the product from a conveyor or layer table and position it onto a pallet. Both conventional and robotic palletizers can receive product at a high elevation or low “floor level” elevation