An innovative solution to a logistics challenge
At a large logistics provider, the challenge was to sort all kinds of beverage crates with empty bottles to stack on individual pallets. The crates contained bottles of beer, water, fruit juice, lemonade and other drinks. The challenge was twofold: on the one hand, the various types of crates had to be recognised by a vision system; on the other, an automatic palletiser had to be found that had a large range to stack the four most common types on individual pallets.
The challenge in palletising beverage crates
The complexity of this case lay in recognising and sorting the different types of beverage crates. Each crate contained empty bottles that came in different shapes and colours depending on the type of drink. A system had to be developed that could detect and sort this variety. Moreover, palletisation had to be able to be done accurately and efficiently in order to optimise logistics processes.
Self-learning technology
Deploying a ‘self-learning’ vision system proved to be the solution for identifying the various crates. This system could be learnt to identify the different types, checking whether empty bottles were missing from the crate. The flexibility of the system was increased as an unlimited number of crate types could be learned. This self-learning technology allowed the system to continuously adapt to new crate types without the need for manual reprogramming.
Spider gantry robot to palletise beverage crates
For palletising the four most common types of highrunners, the Spider gantry robot proved to be the ideal solution. The high feed rates required four individual robots. These could be accommodated in one portal frame, resulting in a compact and budget-friendly solution. This design made it possible to line up all pallets neatly next to each other, which made the supply and removal of empty and full pallets clear for the operators.
The solution for stacking drinks crates
The combination of the ‘self-learning’ vision system and the Spider palletising robots gave a very sophisticated solution for palletising beverage crates. The vision system was trained to recognise the different crates, even down to detecting missing bottles. This significantly increased the accuracy of the sorting process.
The Spider gantry robots provided an efficient and compact palletising solution. The high feed speeds and design of the portal frame allowed four individual robots to be housed in one frame. This made it possible to stack the pallets in an orderly and organised manner, which further increased the efficiency of the logistics process.
Benefits of beverage crate palletisation
Conclusion
The challenge of automatically palletising beverage crates at a major logistics provider was successfully addressed by the implementation of a ‘self-learning’ vision system and Spider portal robots. This innovative solution provided an efficient, flexible and cost-effective approach to the sorting and palletising process. The result was increased productivity and improved clarity of the logistics process, contributing to the overall optimisation of the logistics provider’s operations.