Essex-based automation manufacturer, Pacepacker Services has reported enquiries for single robots dedicated to end-of-line palletising has doubled in the past 12 months.
The considerable rise in demand for flexible palletising robots has been reportedly been driven by packers, factories and farmers moving away from traditional application-specific work cells.
Pacepacker Services has designed and built packing machinery for more than 40 years. Alongside its own-brand systems, the business integrates technology from many of the leading robotic, mechatronic, conveyor and weighing suppliers.
Palletising operations have become increasingly automated as businesses look to eliminate manual stacking hazards, improve worker health and safety, maintain quality and reduce product damage.
The next evolution in that automation journey has been the introduction of high-speed flexible systems, addressing the issue of frequent product changeovers with various, quick-changeover multi-purpose grippers.
Pacepackers’ Paul Wilkinson explained: “We are increasing designing palletising cells with three to four in-feed conveyor lines, often carrying different product sizes, packaging types and weights.”
sizes.”
Fanuc’s new M410 series is one example of an advanced multitask palletising system, with one robot capable of picking up different product formats from multiple lines simultaneously and stack up to three pallets.
Wilkinson continued: “Given that a large volume of packers today serve a wide customer base and have to accommodate peak demands, palletising robots need to be able to react swiftly to varied products and packing.”
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