Palletising Robot

Palletising by hand is one of the more physically demanding jobs on a factory floor. It involves repetitive lifting, bending, and rotating, often for hours at a stretch. The injury rate is high, staff turnover in these roles tends to be higher than elsewhere, and output is limited by human endurance.

A palletising robot removes all of that. It works at a consistent rate, doesn't slow down at the end of a shift, and can stack heavier loads and more complex patterns than a person working safely. In most applications it also takes up less floor space than a manual palletising operation with equivalent throughput.

Businesses running two or three shifts, or anyone operating 24/7, typically see payback in two to four years. In high-volume operations, it's often faster.

A palletising robot is typically a large-payload articulated arm, six-axis, high reach, mounted on a fixed base or a pedestal. Products generally arrive on an infeed conveyor and the robot picks them up using a specially designed End-of-Arm-Tooling (EOAT). The EOAT is usually a gripper or vacuum cup tool designed to handle the specific product type. It then places each item on the pallet in a pre-programmed sequence, building the pallet up layer by layer.

The stacking pattern is pre-programmed in advance. Pallet patterns matter, an interlocking arrangement gives a stable load that won't shift in transit. The palletising software handles the generation of pallet patterns, working out the most efficient arrangement for the case and pallet dimensions.

Most palletising cells will include a pallet dispenser to feed empty pallets to the robot, a stretch wrapper at the output end to secure completed loads, and a conveyor to move finished pallets away. Some facilities run multiple product lines into a single robot cell, with the robot switching between patterns automatically.

Safety guarding with interlocked access doors or light curtains define the working zone and prevent access while the system is running.