Palletizing Machines
Palletizing machines have many
advantages over manual pallet loading, including precision, load
stability and worker ergonomics. In addition, palletizer machines can
work faster and have better consistency than a human operator, who may
suffer injuries as a result of continuous lifting. Automatic palletizers can be low level palletizers,
which load packaged units from a floor level, or they can be high level
palletizers, which move packaged units from another story above.
Palletizing machines may be designed to handle one type of product, such
as bag palletizers, case pickers, drum palletizers
and bottle palletizers, or they may handle several different types of
packages. Distribution centers and manufacturing facilities handling
incoming shipments often use depalletizers to unload packaged units, and palletizing machine accessories such as pallet dispensers and load transfer stations are used to assist in managing both pallets and loads.
Palletizing
machines can be fully automatic or semi-automatic and are typically
powered through hydraulic, pneumatic or electro-mechanical means. Three
of the most common types of palletizing machines include robotic
palletizers, low level palletizers and high level palletizers. Fully
automatic, robotic palletizing machines are typically stationed between a
conveyor line of incoming product units and a pallet dispenser. A
hydraulic robotic arm lifts cases, bottles, bags or drums using flat
pincer arms or suction cup arms in organized rows onto a pallet,
stacking units with near-perfect precision. Robotic palletizing machines
may be altered to work with different types of product units and are
excellent for handling fragile or heavy product units, although they may
be slower, as they can only place one unit or row at a time. Low level
and high level palletizing machines are two types of conveyorized
palletizing machines that have a feed area that receives the goods
intended for palletization. In low level palletizing machines, or
floor-entry palletizing machines, products are loaded from the ground
level, while high level palletizers are loaded from above or from the
story above. The packaged units are received by roller conveyors and are
continuously transferred and sorted to the pallets by automated
conveyor rollers, allowing greater packaging speed than robotic
palletizers. Low and high level palletizing machines may be fully
automatic, requiring no manual involvement, or they may be semi
automatic, requiring loads to be manually connected and disconnected
from the palletizer lifting arm.
