The essential guide to robotic palletisers

Robotic palletisers are robots used to move products that are large and heavy from the production line to pallets for transportation or storage. There are many robots that can be used for this but it’s best to use a palletising robot that is specifically designed to perform the task.

With a palletising robot you have more control as you can programme it to suit your specific needs. You can manage the arrangement of products based on their size, as well as your different palletising requirements. You can also reprogramme the robot should your product line change based on packaging and size.

Why use a robotic palletiser?

There are many benefits to using robotic palletisers, ranging from cost saving to efficiency. Many businesses have started looking toward robotic palletisers to simplify their production lines and accelerate it. Traditionally, palletising is manually performed by employees, which increases the risk of injury and downtime.

When talking about palletising, many businesses think that it’s reserved for large, heavy products, however, the truth is that it can be used for large- and small-scale production lines as it can be programmed to suit your needs. Palletising doesn’t have to be only moving objects from the conveyor belt to a wooden pallet, it can be moved to any surface. The important part is to understand that palletisers can be adjusted for any production line and would be an investment for your business if implemented correctly.

Robots are flexible, fast, accurate, and can be adapted on the move for any changes, even if there are complicated layer patterns.

There are three robotic palletiser types:

Six-axis industrial robots

• A high-performance and highly flexible end robot designed for an array of tasks such as palletising, among others.

Collaborative robots

• These are manufacturing robots that can be used safely alongside humans. It has a safety feature that is ideal for palletising systems that aren’t fully automated. They are not as fast as other palletisers, but they can perform repetitive tasks faster.

Dedicated palletising robots

• These are the most used palletisers as they are functionally designed for palletising only. They can handle heavy loads of up to 800 kg. They come with four axes and combine with axis coupling to handle heavier loads.

Programming robotic palletisers

The first thing you need to consider is using good programming software. With the right software, the programming for your palletising robot will be easy and manageable. You might think that hardcoding your robot would be best, but it’s better not to as it will make your code hard to update and essentially ruin your palletising. You want the robot programming software to cycle through the various palletising locations automatically.

You can program the robot according to the dimensions and properties of the palletising pattern, such as length, width, repetition properties, etc. It will then automatically calculate the exact robot locations.

Yaskawa’s robotic palletisers

We are a trusted partner and leader in the manufacturing of robotic solutions for palletizing and depalletizing. It involves flexibility through 2D and 3D vision software as well as specialised software and tooling to enable customisation for speed, safety, accuracy, and maximum productivity. Yaskawa can also provide you with the necessary training to use your robot to its full potential. Contact us for more info.