What kind of palletiser do you need for your canning line?
Choosing safe and reliable equipment for your manufacturing facility is key in order to keep operations running smoothly and canning lines are no exception. The size and scale of your operation will ultimately determine the best palletiser fit for your production line.
Generally speaking, canned beverages are packed into standard carton configurations to meet retail demands and as such pallet patterns are mostly standard as well, allowing for a simple palletising solution. With this in mind the determining factors for choosing the right palletiser for your facility is determined by the number of canning lines being palletised and your production rate requirements.
Low Speed Can Production
Production facilities which produce between 50 and 135 cans per minute on a single can line will typically palletise by hand or with a collaborative robot. Collaborative robots are great for slow speed applications however they have limited reach and weigh handling capabilities which can be a problem for 24 beverage can cartons.
Low – Mid Speed Can Production
When production rates increase to around 240 to 480 cans per minute on a single can line an automated palletiser is required. In this application a mechanical or robotic solution would be suitable depending on the space you have available, budget and level of pallet automation required.
If you are running two or more can lines at low throughput rates, robotic palletising is the best solution. In this scenario a robot can pick and palletise to different locations within a small area, which is ideal when space is limited. The line speeds achievable is limited to the number of pick and place cycles of the robot and how many cartons can be picked at a time. To use a mechanical palletiser in this scenario you would need the space available to in order to accumulate a full pallet of products on each line. When a pallet load of products is available the product is then sent to the palletiser. A mechanical palletiser in this example would take up additional floor space than that of a robotic palletising solution.
Mid Speed Can Production
Mid speed lines of 500 to 1,500 cans per minute can be palletised using mechanical solutions or if a robot is your preference a full layer gripper can be utilised. A full layer gripper allows the pallet layer to be formed mechanically so the robot only has to pick and place each layer. This allows the layer to be formed while the robot is completing its cycle.
High Speed Can Production
High speed lines of 1,500 to 3,000 can per minute can only really be handled by mechanical palletises which create the pallet layer continuously.
Fibre King has been providing canning solutions for companies across Australia, New Zealand and Asia for over 30 years. Our industry experience has enabled us to grow our equipment range so that we can provide, install, integrate and service turnkey canning equipment into facilities of any size. Whether you are looking for a palletising solution to get your cans to market reliably, or a full canning line with de-palletisers, conveyors, can rinser, can fillers case packers and palletisers we can help find you a solution that will meet your production requirements, budget and floorspace.
To get a quick, no obligation quote for a palletising solution, then email or call us with your production rates and how many lines you are running and we will get back to you soon.
