An automated end-of-line process combining material flow and palletizing. The heart of the system: two identical palletizing cells with highly dynamic palletizing grippers that handle the wide range of products and multiple pallet formats as well as intermediate layers.
The project solution includes end-to-end automation of the packaging and palletizing processes. First, the carton blanks are unfolded and glued using an automatic carton erector. The empty cartons are transported to the next process step via a double-deck lift and are provided to two manual workstations via a chute, where they are manually loaded with the folding cartons according to the order. A corner transfer unit then aligns the cartons before the product-specific information is applied using inkjet printing. A carton sealer automatically folds in the flaps and securely seals the cartons with parcel tape.
A highly dynamic palletizing robot then stacks the finished cartons layer by layer onto the pallet and places an intermediate layer after each layer for stabilization. Once the pallet is complete, it is automatically ejected from the cell and made available to an automated guided vehicle (AGV) for collection. At the same time, a six-axis robot places a new empty pallet on the palletizing station - and the process starts again.
