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A Palletizing robot is an automated Six-Axis robotic arm that stacks and sorts boxes onto pallets. These Collaborative robots, or Cobots, are known as such because they work side-by-side with humans while handling tedious, repetitive and potentially unsafe tasks.
As a business owner, a Cobot palletizer can save you time, money, and resources. Your employees will be free to pursue higher-level tasks, and they’ll face a much lower risk of injury.
Plus, a Cobot works at a consistent speed and maintains proper form, increasing productivity and output.
Additionally, they address bottlenecks and allow for a 24/7 workflow. A Cobot palletizer can keep going for long periods, enabling your human employees to take much-needed breaks - and maybe catch that game on TV.
What are your options when it comes to choosing a Palletizing robot? There are two main types: Industrial robots and Cobots.
Industrial robots are the big boys - they can lift heavy loads and work fast. But they require safety cages (they can’t work closely alongside humans), in-depth programming, and are more limited when it comes to versatility.
Cobots are lightweight, flexible, and made to work side by side with humans. They're ideal for small and medium businesses and come with a more appropriate price tag.
Moreover, Cobots come in all shapes and sizes, the most common of which are articulated arms, SCARA (Selective Compliance Assembly Robot Arm) robots, and Delta or Parallel robots.
With the right end-effector or gripper, you can customize any of these Cobots to tackle your palletizing needs.
Palletizing robots, whether Industrial or Collaborative, can do plenty for your business.
Here are some of their benefits:
What is a Palletizing robot? A loading and unloading powerhouse, swiftly loading items to or from pallets, a critical function in warehouses and manufacturing facilities.
Palletizing robots offer precise arrangement capabilities that optimize space utilization while adapting a variety of palletization patterns. The result is maximum cargo capacity and stability during transportation or storage.
These robots are designed to easily handle heavy items, removing the risk of repetitive strain injuries, which are often the result of heavy lifting.
The robot should be able to handle a variety of goods of different shapes, sizes, and materials. Whether you need to move heavy boxes, fragile glass cups, or irregularly shaped products, an adaptable robot can get the job done.
Cobots get their name from their capability to work alongside human employees. Their lightweight build, force-limited joints, and sensors are built-in safeguards against injuries.
While they are not necessarily slow, they ARE better at adapting on the fly and stopping.
Conversely, Industrial robots require some sort of safeguard or protective barrier because they can’t detect a human presence, though it is possible to augment these robots with a light curtain, proximity sensor, area scanners, etc. However, these pieces of equipment are expensive, especially compared to Cobots with built-in sensors.
While Cobots may move slower than Industrial robots, they operate for longer periods without breaks. Automating repetitive and physically demanding tasks like palletizing improves productivity and workflow. Ciao, bottlenecks.
Palletizing robots, especially Cobots, are simple to reprogram and redeploy as needs change. Although the initial investment may be significant, the long-term benefits to your business will offset the initial investment.
When it comes to palletization, Cobot arms offer plenty of solutions, but they do have their limitations.
They’re typically far smaller and lighter than your typical Industrial robots, which means they've got a cap on how much they can lift. Anything over 18-20 kg might be too heavy for Cobots since that's their general payload limit.
Palletizing robots also tend to have a limited reach. Even the best ones tend not to exceed 1.3m, perfect for handling Euro-pallets. But, if you're working with spots farther apart, the traditional Industrial robots might be your go-to for efficient palletizing across greater distances.
Sure, Cobots can tackle palletizing tasks longer than your average worker and take the load off of repetitive work. But when it comes to speed, they're not speed demons like traditional Industrial robots, because of their safety mechanisms.
And, if you do go with an Industrial Palletizing robot, make extra sure to keep things safe by installing the correct (and necessary) protective measures.
When it comes to Palletizing robots, three names rank at the top.
For small businesses looking to dip their toe in the waters of automation, Standard Bots is the easy choice.
But, as your needs scale up, Fanuc and Yaskawa Motoman offer more heavy-duty options with advanced functionality.
So, now when someone asks “What is a Palletizing robot?” you can give them a quick overview. Today, much of what we consume and use daily has some measure of robotic automation involved in its manufacturing process.
Next time you order something online and it shows up at your doorstep in perfect condition, you'll know there was probably a Palletizing robot involved at some point. But now, new options on the market are ensuring Palletizing robots aren’t just available to industrial giants.
Presently, small and medium businesses can use Palletizing robots, and Cobots especially, to galvanize and revitalize operations, save money, and increase all-around productivity.