Robotic palletising and de-palletising are two logistical tasks that are often put together when we talk about automation. There are similarities, linking the two, but there are also some key differences that separate these two robotic operations.
Robot palletising is when robots are used to place and stack goods onto a pallet for transportation or storage purposes. You can use almost any robot arm for palletising. If the robot can pick up the desired object and place it down elsewhere, it will more than likely handle palletising. This can be enhanced even more with the design of the end effector, and the introduction of a vision system, all linked using intelligent software.
Robotic de-palletising is when robots are used to systematically remove goods from a loaded pallet. This operation is usually found in the inbound/first stage process where the goods have arrived at a facility loaded onto a pallet.
In some instances, robot de-palletising and Palletising can work together “re-palletising.” This is when goods are removed from one loaded pallet and placed onto a second pallet for further operation.
Both palletising and de-palletising are often bottlenecks to production in the warehouse, even more so when operators in these areas perform multiple tasks. When performed manually these operations certainly come with risk. Operations are usually repetitive, and goods moved can vary in both size and weight therefore the risk of injury is high. With these elements in mind, there is always a strong case to introduce a robotic palletising/de-palletising system to enhance your processes.
The clear difference between both applications is that they interact with different processes in your production workflow. You will usually integrate a palletising system following an upstream packaging task, sealing, labelling and case erecting. whereas de-palletising is found at the start of your workflow, interacting with picking, sorting and unpacking tasks.
Many industries today have automated their application with a palletising robot solution of some kind. With technology advancing at such a speed and systems being enhanced utilising vision and AI, both robot pelletising and de-palletising make for a productive and profitable automation offering, giving you the flexibility to run numerous products for longer periods of time.
Let L-A-C Logistics Automation help you find the best palletising solution for your unique requirements and consider the following.
- Are most of your bottlenecks at the beginning or at the end of your workflow?
- Where in the facility do you want to place the robot solution?
- Do you want to try to perform both tasks with the same robot or have multiple robots?
- What would be your throughput of product for either of the tasks?
Contact us to discuss this further!
