businessIndustry Information
Robotic Palletizers
Robotic palletizers are materials handling machines used to load and
unload pallets used in storage and shipping applications. Pallets are
among the most widely used shipping and storage platforms. They exist in
many forms and can bear the weight of hundreds, and sometimes
thousands, of pounds of materials.
Robotic palletizers are just one variety
of palletizing equipment. A wide variety of equipment has been developed
to facilitate the movement of pallets and their loads from one place to
another. In warehouses, pallets that are moved across short distances
can often be moved with forklifts and even manual pallet jacks. But in
very large scale manufacturing and distribution operations, palletizing
systems can give an operation the productivity boost it needs to remain
competitive. There are many different kinds of robotic palletizers, and
they are all used for many different purposes. Bag palletizers
are used to load and unload bags in large quantities before or after
shipment of a pallet; they are widely used in the production and
distribution of heavy, bagged products like concrete and bulk minerals. Depalletizers
are used exclusively for the unloading of products from pallets; they
make the movement of materials from loading bays to production floors
safer, quicker and more efficient.
In addition to streamlining
materials handling on factory and warehouse floors, robotic palletizers
can account for a dramatic reduction in strain-induced injuries for
workers. Especially in the movement of heavy materials, repeated bending
and lifting can cause severe strain to workers and can cause injuries.
Such scenarios compromise employee health, which also leads to a
reduction of productivity and efficiency, and it contributes to employee
healthcare costs.
Palletizing machines
are capable of lifting and moving heavy objects for extended periods of
time without ceasing. The only necessary interruptions to palletizer
operations should be periodic maintenance and the end of a work shift.
Some robotic palletizers are equipped with safety features like
QuickSTOP and Smartscan. QuickSTOP safety systems detect problems with a
robotic palletizer's components during operation; this can prevent
further damage to the palletizer as well as damage to products. The
Smartscan safeguard, on the other hand, protects workers in close
proximity to robotic palletizers. Smartscan systems detect the presence
of humans near palletizers, and when proximity sensors are triggered,
the palletizer ceases its operation in order to reduce the risk of
worker injury. Palletizer systems can be a large initial expense, but it
is an investment in efficiency and worker safety. Those investments
consistently prove themselves to negate the expense after a short time
of operation.
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Robotic Palletizers - American-Newlong, Inc. |
Robotic Palletizers - American-Newlong, Inc. |