Advanced solution for space-saving palletisation at tortilla manufacturer
At one of the largest manufacturers of tortillas, the boxes and open trays of their eight production lines had to be automatically palletised in a very limited space. This challenge went beyond just stacking the products, the supply and removal of both empty and full pallets had to be fully automated. In addition, all pallets that were stacked had to be arranged next to each other.
High feed rates and limited space
The main challenge was to make the best use of the available space. Traditional articulated-arm robots take up a lot of space because they had to be set up on the ground, which was not possible in this case. Moreover, because such robots have a round reach, the pallets could not be placed side by side, making the entire installation too wide and not fitting into the building.
Compact setup of Spider Robots
The chosen solution was to deploy Spider gantry robot palletisers. These innovative palletisers have all moving parts above the working area, so no floor space is lost to the arrangement of the robots. This is in contrast to traditional articulated arm robots, which take up a lot of floor space.
In addition, common inter-sheet warehouses could be set up, eliminating the need to equip each individual robot with its own warehouse. This resulted in an even more compact set-up, as the robots could move on the same portal frame with a common area for the inter-sheet warehouse. Fast lines are palletised with one robot, while for slower lines, one robot can stack two lines simultaneously.
Automatic palletising and offloading at high speeds
The supply and removal of empty and full pallets was fully automated. Empty pallets are destacked via centrally located empty pallet destackers and transported to the individual stacking positions via an ultra-fast transfer trolley on rails. Full pallets are transported via a gantry transfer trolley to a centrally located pallet packing line. This transfer car is equipped with safety laser scanners and moves over the ground, leaving free passage through the transfer car’s walkway.
Ready to palletise even more lines at high feed rates
The plant is designed so that seven more lines can be added in the future, making a total of 15 production lines automatically stacked. This not only allows the manufacturer to scale up production capacity, but also to respond flexibly to future changes in demand.
Spider Robots, the efficient solution
The implementation of Spider gantry robot palletisers has resulted in a highly efficient and space-saving solution for palletising production lines at this large tortilla manufacturer. Thanks to the automated supply and removal of pallets and the flexible arrangement of the robots, the manufacturer is able to efficiently palletise both fast and slower production lines, with room for future expansion. This project demonstrates how innovative technologies and smart design choices can help solve complex logistics challenges in the modern production environment.
Conclusion
Automating the palletising process with Spider gantry robots provides an effective solution where space is limited. By deploying this technology, the fish processing company has realised a significant improvement in efficiency and working conditions. This project also highlights the potential of innovative robotics to automate traditional manual processes and help companies stay competitive in an increasingly demanding market.