The Benefits and Applications of Robotic Palletizers

An important part of logistics is the palletizing process. In the past, manufacturers required manual workers to load and pack pallets that would then be sent for shipment or storage. While it might sound like a simple task, it wasn’t. Calculations of weight, size, and placement were necessary before even moving the products. Naturally, human error could result in inaccurate calculations and mistakes being made. In addition, workers could injure themselves moving around heavy boxes or even damage the products or factory equipment unintentionally by toppling the stacked pallets.

Applications of robotic palletizers

Robotic palletizers are capable of dealing with a variety of shapes and products - for example, crates of beverages or even bags of manure or cement. That said, before deciding that a robotic palletizer is essential to the business, there are a few considerations that a business should make:

●      Product type

●      Differing product types

●      Dimensions and weights of the products

●      Production rates

●      Pallet pattern

Once these factors are clearly defined, it’s easier to chat to a robotics expert such as Yaskawa that will be able to advise on the best solution for your requirements. Depending on productivity and the output of the production line, there could also be a situation where a manufacturer will pack a pallet with larger products then smaller ones the next day. The good news is that palletizing robots are capable of adapting to the varying requirements of a supply chain. All that’s necessary is for the robots to be programmed accordingly.

The benefits of robotic palletizers

Without a shadow of doubt, robotic palletizers have changed how businesses operate and brought other benefits that robotics in general enables, such as speed, efficiency, and overall productivity. However, they have also allowed for the following:

Floor space

A robotic palletizer takes up less space than a conventional palletizer. In an era when manufacturers are trying to maximize the floor space available to them, a robotic palletizer occupies less square meterage and makes more sense for space efficiency.

Adaptability

As briefly mentioned before, a robotic palletizer can handle large packages on one day and smaller ones the next day. Instead of buying a product for each function or application, a robotic palletizer just requires knowledge of programming to adapt it to the manufacturer’s requirements.

Scalability

The reality is that not every organization can afford to invest in a fleet of robots immediately. That’s perfectly okay since robotics allows for scalability, depending on business and production requirements.

Integration

Due to the fact that robotic palletizers are self-contained, they easily fit into current production lines that might not necessarily be of the same brand or even robotic. That said, Yaskawa recommends utilizing a sole manufacturer where possible, since it’s more effective and cost-efficient in the long run, especially if everything works together in seamless harmy.

Using Yaskawa’s robotic palletizers

Through decades of research and world-class development, Yaskawa has become a trusted partner and leader in the manufacturing of robotic solutions for palletizing. Our solutions are flexible and feature 2D and 3D vision software, as well as specialized software and tooling to enable customisation for speed, safety, accuracy, and maximum productivity. Contact us for more info.