What's New in Palletising

Did you know that palletising can be one of the easiest bottlenecks to fix on your production line, and ultimately boost profits? Optimising palletising can effectively resolve line efficiency issues, especially when manual or outdated systems are slowing down operations.

An easy fix, you say, but not so easy when there’s no capital to invest in palletising! There’s a solution for that too. It’s called Lease2Buy and it will give you all the benefits of new equipment now, without any capital expense, at low interest and with low total cost of ownership. Able to be paid off over five years, Lease2Buy turns capital expense into operating expense. It’s fast to set up and can improve your cash flow immediately.

 

So, if you could do with a palletiser upgrade, here are our top five developments in palletising technology:

1. INSTANT ROBOT PALLETISER i35

You may have heard about our cobot-powered INSTANT PALLETISER; now here’s an exciting new robot-powered version!

Meet the INSTANT PALLETISER i35, an all-in-one palletising work cell that is literally plug and play.

It’s able to handle 34 kg cases at 12 cycles a minute, or even 24 cases per minute for 17 kg cases, with our unique multi-variable case pick-up software. This innovative software allows the robot pick head to select one or two cases, depending on the layer pattern requirement. i35 will improve your OEE Availability with a 5-minute set-up time.

i35 features a Fanuc M-20iD/35 robot arm requiring no programming, calibration or technical skills to operate. Intuitive software allows any operator to enter box dimensions, weight and select a pallet pattern, which are translated automatically into a robot program. The setup is fast, simple and new pallet patterns can be created in just seconds using the integrated touch screen. And it helps your OEE Performance by palletising to two locations for continuous operation.

2. ROBOPAC PALWRAPP

How about combined palletising and stretch wrapping? PALWRAPP is the ideal space-saving and efficiency-driving solution to handle packs with flat bottoms typical of the FMCG Industry.

Not only is PALWRAPP super-compact and energy efficient, its palletising and wrapping are reliable, accurate, and gentle on products. Using Robopac’s CUBE Technology®, it offers variable pre-stretch and containment force, saving you 30–55% on film costs.

PALWRAPP is able to handle pallets up to 1200 x 1200 mm and operate at speeds of up to 50 cases per minute and up to three layers per minute. It can manage a layer weight of up to 350 kg. It comes with options for stretch wrapping, destacking and automatic interlayers. There are several versions available for automatic or semi-automatic operation, and different infeeds and stacking heights.

3. INSTANT COBOT PALLETISER HAS HAD AN UPGRADE!

Instant Palletiser was designed to be the quickest and easiest cobot-powered palletiser to set up and operate. It’s totally portable. Just wheel it into place, plug it into 240V power and air and you’re ready to go!

Now able to handle up to 28 kg cases or two 14 kg cases, variable multi-pick capability means it can pick one or two cases on any cycle and palletise up to 16 cases per minute. It stacks in one or two locations at heights of up to 2,500 mm.

It requires no programming, teaching, or calibration. An intuitive set-up wizard on the 13″ touch screen requests inputs on case dimensions, case weight, pallet type, and stack height. It then suggests several pallet pattern options, which, when selected, are saved for that particular SKU. The smart software provides pallet pattern configuration options that take into account optimised interlocking for pallet stability, pallet utilisation and breathability factors. The software even asks if case barcodes need to be positioned on the outside surface of the pallet.

The system uses built-in safety zone scanners for speeds over 5 cases per minute. The solution includes sensors and indicator lights to confirm that an empty pallet is present and placed correctly.

4. ROBOMATRIX MULTI-SKU

Robomatrix® Multi-SKU is a new release and a step change in Australian palletising, enabling FMCG manufacturers to palletise multiple products and formats at high speed.

Consumers are demanding a wider range of packaging styles, shapes and sizes. A single FMCG packaging line is expected to be able to accommodate more SKUs than ever before, at faster speeds with less waste. New Multi-SKU Robomatrix High-Speed Palletising is capable of palletising multiple products to multiple locations at the same time.

Multi-SKU can handle two lines simultaneously, with almost unlimited SKUs between them. On a recent installation done by Foodmach, one line runs 3 formats, and the other around 12 formats. However, due to our pattern programming software Robowizard®, the system is completely flexible, and the palletiser could manage significantly more formats on each of the two lines. High-level systems will palletise 8–9 layers per minute while low-level systems will do around 4 layers per minute.

The system is designed to be modular so additional palletisers can be added and share the same pallet handling inbound and outbound.

Client references include Nuttelex.

5. ROBOMATRIX DUAL INFEED

The award-winning Robomatrix Dual Infeed enables FMCG manufacturers to palletise smaller formats at high speeds.

Traditionally, local beverage makers palletised larger formats (24 and 30 packs). However, with evolving product lines — such as sleek, slim, and classic cans, and various bottles for RTDs, seltzers, and no/low-alcohol options — there’s a growing need to palletise smaller packs in higher volumes on each layer.

So we took our award-winning high-speed palletiser and came up with Robomatrix Dual Infeed. Cases are fed in two parallel lanes to two industrial robots (which work across both lanes) to optimise case collation.

Cases are brought onto the pattern-forming area much closer together (almost simultaneously), which in turn allows us to form the pattern at a faster rate.

Our solution handles smaller packs in “blocks” up to 1200 mm long, enabling tight layer patterns and minimising common issues like unwanted pack turning or accumulation.

Additionally, the dual-infeed design led to the creation of Robowizard, an HMI-based interface allowing clients to create new pallet patterns in minutes — saving costs and avoiding the need for expensive OEM programming (often over $10,000 per pattern). Clients like Asahi have already implemented this innovative solution.

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Did you know that Foodmach has a case palletiser for every application? From low to high speed, low to high level, mechanical to robot (and cobot), and all with self-programming software, when you think palletiser — or depalletiser — think Foodmach!

Every machine we sell comes with our 50+ years of experience in improving Overall Equipment Effectiveness. To us, OEE means Operational Efficiency, Everytime.

Reach out to Chris Yule at 0408 944 587 for details.