Palletizing Robots Easily Solve Logistics Handling Problems
2020-07-16
As is well known, in warehouses, the handling, placement, and retrieval of goods are all very difficult tasks for manual labor. Relying solely on manual labor makes it impossible to achieve efficient storage and retrieval. Therefore, modern warehouses are becoming increasingly automated, and many large companies are adopting various types of material-handling vehicles and robots. Palletizing robots are a common type of equipment found in warehouses today. The primary "responsibility" of a palletizing robot is to automatically stack cartons that have been loaded into containers onto pallets (wooden or plastic) in a specific arrangement. It can stack multiple layers and then push the stacked pallets out for easy transport by forklifts to warehouse storage areas. So, how exactly do palletizing robots help companies reduce costs?
With the continuous development of China's economy and rapid advances in science and technology, robots have found extensive applications in industries such as palletizing, adhesive application, spot welding, arc welding, spray painting, material handling, and measurement. There are many reasons—including the variety of packaging types, factory environments, and customer demands—that make palletizing a tough nut to crack in packaging plants. To overcome these challenges, every aspect of palletizing robots—from the robotic arms to the software that controls them—is undergoing continuous development and improvement. The growing market demand for flexibility has influenced many aspects of packaging, and the back end of production lines is no exception. Retail customers, especially influential ones like Walmart, often require customized, random-configuration pallets; however, they must customize each pallet individually, even though the pallet configurations rarely repeat. Moreover, the efficient production of such random pallets is relatively difficult.
Features of Automatic Palletizing Robots
1. Simple structure with few components. Consequently, component failure rates are low, performance is reliable, maintenance is straightforward, and fewer spare parts are required in inventory.
2. Palletizing robots have a small footprint. This facilitates production line layout within the customer's facility and frees up more warehouse space. Palletizing robots can be installed in narrow spaces and still operate effectively.
3. Palletizing robots are highly adaptable. When changes occur in the dimensions, volume, or shape of the customer's products, or in the external dimensions of the pallets, only minor adjustments are needed on the touchscreen, without disrupting normal production. In contrast, making such changes to mechanical palletizers is quite cumbersome and may even be impossible.
4. Low energy consumption. Typically, mechanical palletizers consume around 26kW of power, whereas palletizing robots consume approximately 5kW. This reduces the customer's operating costs.
5. All controls can be operated via the control cabinet screen, making operation very simple.
6. Only the pickup and placement points need to be defined; the teaching method is simple and easy to understand.
