In a world where the phrase ‘time is money’ has never struck a truer chord, ensuring your manufacturing and packaging processes are as futureproof as possible is crucial to the success of your business moving forwards, both as part of the supply chain and particularly for end of line (EOL) solutions.
Robotic palletisers are advanced automated systems designed to stack products like cartons, bags, or bottles onto pallets in a precise and efficient manner. These systems have gained popularity across various industries due to their ability to increase productivity, enhance safety, and reduce operational costs for businesses both large and small. Here’s why they are increasingly necessary for cutting costs and improving manufacturing efficiency and safety in the longer term:
Key benefits and developments:
Modern robotic palletisers are equipped with high-speed capabilities, enabling them to handle large volumes of products very quickly and efficiently. Many are designed specifically for optimum speed, with heavy-payload applications which help to prevent bottlenecks and increase overall line efficiency.
Recent and major advancements in their flexibility to handle different types of packaging and pallet configurations mean robotic palletisers can easily switch between stacking boxes, cartons, or even bags, with the need for significant and time-consuming reprogramming or manual adjustments significantly reduced. This flexibility is enhanced with customisable end-of-arm tooling (EOAT) which enables the robots to manage a much wider variety of product shapes and sizes.
The robotic systems are often integrated with state-of-the-art vision and AI technologies, enabling them to automatically adjust to variations in product positioning and further ensure more precise pallet stacking – this use of vision-guided robots helps improve accuracy, ensuring stable and secure pallets and reducing the risk of damage during transportation.
Robotic palletisers enhance safety in the workplace by all but eliminating the need for manual lifting, massively reducing the risk of musculoskeletal injuries. These systems can also operate in hazardous environments (e.g., handling heavy or toxic materials), reducing worker exposure to hazardous chemical or environmental risks.
More recent models are designed to take up less space, making them ideal for facilities with limited floor space and are also scalable, meaning additional units can be integrated easily as per any necessary increase in production and output.
Applications:
Robotic palletisers are widely utilised across industries including food and beverage, pharmaceuticals and manufacturing, where they efficiently handle end-of-line processes by stacking products onto pallets for distribution. Their ability to work continuously without breaks makes them ideal for high-demand environments and by automating these repetitive tasks, helping manufacturers and distributors increase output, reduce labour costs and improve the overall reliability of their supply chains.
Manual v Robotic
The cost comparison between robotic and manual palletising involves several factors, including initial investment, operational costs, and longer-term savings.
Robotic palletisers require a much higher significant upfront cost, depending on factors like the complexity of the system, speed, payload capacity and integration with other equipment. The cost also includes installation, programming, and potentially the need for custom tools to be added. By contrast, manual palletising has very low initial costs, with the primary expenses being wages for workers – there is minimal need for capital expenditure on equipment.
Once installed, robotic systems are relatively inexpensive to run. The main costs include electricity, routine maintenance, and occasional software updates. However, robotic systems can operate 24/7 with minimal supervision, drastically reducing labour costs immediately and also impacting indirect costs such as workplace injury, staff turnover and training.
Robots offer significant productivity gains and can work faster than humans, consistently handling up to 30 units per minute depending on the system, without the need for breaks or fatigue risk. This efficiency translates into higher throughput and better utilisation of floor space. Additionally, robots can work in harsher environments or handle heavy loads more safely than a manual workforce.
Finally, despite the high upfront cost, companies often achieve ROI in 1 to 2 years due to labour savings, increased productivity and lower injury rates. The reduced need for manual handling of heavy loads also results in fewer worker compensation claims and less downtime from injuries.