Fully automated palletizing process and met all project challenges. Easily achieved cycle time and production rate with desired palletizing flexibility. Reduced need for manual labor and improved operator safety. Maximized system throughput, eliminated system downtime.
Project Challenges
- Palletize 10.25" L x 8.5" W x 11.5" H cases of product that weigh 25.3 lbs each as well as slip sheets and two different sizes of wooden pallets: 1,219 mm L x 1,016 mm W x 133 mm H (48" L x 40" W x 5.25" H) or 1,219 mm L x 1,219 mm W x 133 mm H (48" L x 48" W x 5.25" H), that weigh 22.65 kg (50 lbs) each.
- Fully automate case palletizing process and improve operator safety.
- Create more consistent and stable unit loads.
- Complete batch run before manual intervention, and maximize system throughput by eliminating downtime.
- Reorient some cases 180-degrees for storage purposes, and also palletize cases with labels out whenever possible.
- Achieve cycle time rate of three cases approximately every 60 seconds. Cycle time for pallets is approximately 10 seconds.
- Operate three shifts per day, five days per week.
- Provide palletizing pattern flexibility to meet various end-customer’s requirements for number of layers and stacking pattern per pallet.
Motoman Robotics Solution
Motoman Robotics provided a custom UP130 palletizing solution, including:
- UP130 robot with XRC 2001 controller. Options: top-mount XRC cabinet with DIN rail; PCMIA backup card; XIO101 - Discrete I/O Card; and steel robot base riser.
- Custom end-of-arm tooling (multi-function vacuum gripper with mechanical PalletGripper™).
- Infeed conveyor – 3.66-m (12') constant run, live roller spool conveyor.
- Outfeed conveyor, including 7.62-m (25') CDLR conveyor with five zones, and a 1.52-m (5') gravity roller at the end.
- Safety relay programmable logic controller.
- Custom machine interface – allows operator to easily change palletizing patterns and number of layers.
- Two pallet racks.
- Slip sheet rack.
- Stationary regrip station for inverted product.
- Operator station.
- Safety package, including: wire safety fencing, two conveyor pass-through openings (protected by three-sided enclosures to limit the operator’s reach into the cell); self-muting light grids at pallet outfeed area; two operator access gates with safety interlocks; two dunnage gates with safety interlocks; and remote-mounted emergency stop (E-stop) buttons.
Fixtures/Tooling Details
Motoman Robotics provided a custom multi-function vacuum gripper for handling individual cases of product and slip sheets, and mechanical PalletGripper for handling two sizes of wooden pallets. The two-zone vacuum gripper is 508 mm L x 304.8 mm W (20" L x 12" W) and includes a height sensor for pallet and/or slip sheet stacks.
Ref: ACS-052