Palletising with Cobots

May 2022

In this article, we will look at the benefits of palletising using cobots (Collaborative Robots). Palletising is a simple, repetitive task that is commonly used in many industries. We have designed a palletising solution that is easy to use and set up with the end-user in mind. With our solution, you can plan your setup in just three steps directly on the robot control device. It is a simple, flexible, and high-performance cobot solution. Palletising lends itself to collaborative robots, but before going too deep into details, let’s start with simple definitions.

What is Palletising?

Palletising is the process of stacking products on a pallet for shipment or storage. The goal is to maximise the amount of product in the load by weight and volume while preventing products from shifting, toppling, or crushing each other. Most palletising applications are currently done by manual labour, but as workers become harder to find, manufacturers are introducing robots to do the job, thus upskilling workers to more rewarding roles. The inclusion of a cobot palletiser can also reduce RSI (repetitive strain injury).

As long as there is a constant feed of pallets and boxes, then an automated palletising process can be repeated endlessly. However, in some industries, cobots are used in production for single steps, such as unloading injection moulding machines or CNC machines. Because cobots can work endlessly around the clock, the cycle time can be minimised.

SP Elements SP-EZPal Palletiser. Find out more HERE.

Palletising with a Cobot – Efficiencies and Cost Savings

Cobots are cost-effective machines that work side by side with human beings. In a shared work process, they support and relieve the human worker.

Meeting strict packing standards, packaging and palletising cobots offer an effective, mistake-free solution to the demands of ergonomically unfavourable, repetitive work. They help to avoid employee injuries by facilitating the lifting of heavy loads with the assistance of lightweight collaborative robotic arms whilst having inbuilt safety features.

Cobots are being used in various industries to improve fulfilment processes. Packaging cobots place items in cases or trays, and case palletising cobots stack boxes, bottles, bags, pallets, and cartons quickly and accurately. What makes a robot “collaborative” is that it cannot only work alongside humans it can also detect abnormal activity in its environment through force limitation or vision monitoring. These sensors allow humans and robots to cooperate without any physical contact. Most importantly, a cobot is safe to work alongside due to its force and power limitation. All collaborative robots have force sensors in their joints that stop their motion in case of an impact.

Packaging and palletising cobots are being leveraged in numerous industries to optimise fulfilment processes. Packaging cobots, often used for lightweight operations, place objects or products in cases or trays. Case palletising collaborative robot systems have compact, streamlined designs that deliver both precision and speed for the stacking of boxes, bottles, bags, pallets, and cartons ranging from medium to heavy payloads.

Anatomy of a Palletising Cell

A palletising cell can be pretty complex sometimes, but a collaborative robot palletiser removes many of these complexities by utilising simple program and pallet configuration software. There are recurrent items that represent the core of a robotic palletising cell. The anatomy is broken down into the following terminology.

1. Pallet: There are many types of pallets available, such as wood, plastic, paper/cardboard, metal, and aluminium. Size is also a big topic, and standards may vary depending on location.
2. Conveyors: Conveyors are used to route boxes to robots. There are many different types of conveyors available, so make sure you choose the right one for your needs.
3. Controller: The machine’s movements are controlled by the controller, who also adds safety scanners or light curtains.
4. Operator: Operates the robot (in a robotic cell).
5. Gripper: Grasps the box from the conveyor and places it on the pallet; otherwise, a vacuum gripper is the most effective way to choose the boxes; otherwise, you may have problems with the pick quality and repeatability.
6. Teach pendant: As standard, the cobot will come with its own teach pendant to allow for simple program creation and recall of existing programs, making changeovers very quick. We suggest getting a protective case for your device, as you would for your phone, to avoid damage.
7. Status lights: Indicates the different status of the machine, ie, pallet ready, pallet full, error, emergency stop, etc.
8. Cable management system: Used to protect cables that connect the robot to the other components. It also prevents cable pinching and breaking.
9. Robot: Performs the actions of palletising boxes for the operator.
10. Safeguarding:  They are usually found in three forms: fences, light curtains and area scanners. It is not always required, but it always has to be considered with a risk assessment analysis.

Safety

A palletising cell needs a risk assessment and risk reduction before it can be used for production. The purpose of the risk assessment is to identify potential safety risks and figure out ways to reduce them. Once the risks have been identified and reduced to an acceptable level, the machine can be put into production. For a robot palletising cell specifically, many items need to be taken into account, for example:

• The weight of the payload and the robot
• Speed of the load
• Type of product (size, material, etc.)
• Shape of all the moving parts (presence of sharp edges, etc.)
• The presence of a linear axis, which most of the time cannot be power/force limited

After risks have been identified, some safety measures, like using a cobot instead of a traditional robot with a power/force limitation mode, can be applied. However, depending on the application, safeguarding the cell with area scanners or light curtains might be required.

Cobot Advantages

Among their many advantages, packaging and palletizing collaborative robots offer:

1. Versatility: Once the workflow demands decrease, a packaging and palletising cobot can be redesigned and reprogrammed to suit a variety of payload requirements.
2. Lower Maintenance: Palletising cobots have components that are equipped with low-wear drive trains. Due to their robust and streamlined design, palletising cobots have longer maintenance intervals.
3. Strength and Speed: Cobots that are used for packaging and palletising can lift heavy loads quickly, reducing the amount of time needed for each cycle and increasing the number of boxes that can be stacked.
4. Compact Design: Their space-saving size enables the quick integration of packaging and palletising cobots into existing systems to streamline performance and increase production efficiency.
5. Simple Programming: allowing “non-robot” personnel to easily program a pallet sequence.

Collaborative robots offer many advantages for streamlining processes, including increased safety, ease of use, reduced costs and flexibility. They are especially useful for performing a wide range of tasks that are normally classed as dull, dangerous and dirty.

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