Victorian Ingredient Manufacturer Invests in Automated Robotic Bag Palletising
- 23 hours ago
- 5 min read
When a Victorian ingredient manufacturer required a safer and more efficient way to palletise 20 kg and 25 kg bags, the goal was to reduce the manual-handling risks associated with repetitive heavy lifting, improve pallet consistency and automate the movement of product through to wrapped pallet collection.
Drawing on Fibre King’s extensive experience designing and integrating palletising systems, the team developed a customised solution around the manufacturer’s products, existing equipment, pallet formats and factory layout.
The fully integrated robotic bag palletising system combines bag levelling, robotic handling, automatic pallet dispensing, plastic base-board application, pallet conveying and automatic stretch wrapping. Designed to handle multiple bag formats, the system is specified to operate at a minimum rate of five bags per minute and produce up to 10 completed pallets per hour, depending on the selected product and pallet pattern.
Customer Requirements
The manufacturer required a palletising system that could:
* Reduce repetitive manual handling of 20 kg and 25 kg bags
* Improve bag placement and finished pallet consistency
* Produce stable pallet loads for storage and transport
* Handle both Australian pool pallets and export pallets
* Automatically dispense empty pallets and apply plastic base boards
* Integrate with the existing bag conveyor and factory layout
* Automatically stretch wrap and accumulate completed pallets
* Provide simple recipe-based operation for different bag and pallet formats
* Support future product and production requirements
Unlike rigid cartons or cases, flexible bags can bulge, settle and vary in shape. The solution therefore needed to control how each bag was presented to the robot and use a gripper designed specifically for flexible bag handling.
The Fibre King Solution
Fibre King designed a complete robotic bag palletising system around an ABB IRB 460 palletising robot fitted with an ABB FlexGripper claw. Bags arrive from the manufacturer’s existing packing line in a single lane and pass across a square-roller levelling conveyor. This helps distribute the powdered product within each bag and create a more consistent shape before the bag reaches the robotic pick position. The robot picks one bag at a time and places it into the programmed 4S1 interlocked pallet pattern. This process continues until seven layers have been completed.
The system automates:
Bag levelling and controlled product presentation
Robotic bag picking and pallet pattern formation
Empty-pallet dispensing
Plastic base-board application
Full-pallet transfer and accumulation
Automatic stretch wrapping and SSCC labelling
Finished-pallet conveying for forklift collection
The complete system also incorporates safety guarding, interlocked access, automated controls, an operator interface, remote support capability, installation, commissioning and operator training.
As an OEM with extensive palletising experience, Fibre King is responsible for the design and integration of the complete system rather than supplying the robot as a standalone component. This allows the bag infeed, robotic handling, pallet movement, wrapping and system controls to operate as one coordinated end-of-line process.
Consistent Bag Presentation and Robotic Handling
Consistent product presentation is critical when automating flexible bags.Bags that arrive excessively bulged, distorted, leaking or inconsistently filled can affect robotic picking and finished pallet quality. Fibre King’s square-roller levelling conveyor helps condition each bag before it reaches the robot, improving the consistency of the pick surface and overall bag shape.
The ABB FlexGripper can handle bags weighing up to 30 kg and ranging from 300 to 750 mm long, 250 to 550 mm wide and 90 to 200 mm high. Its claw-style design supports the bag during transfer and placement, allowing the robot to position each bag accurately while building consistent, interlocked pallet layers.
Automatic Pallet and Base-Board Handling
Stacks of up to 10 empty pallets are loaded into the pallet dispenser by forklift. The dispenser automatically separates the bottom pallet and transfers it onto the powered pallet conveyor. A base-board applicator then places a plastic slip sheet onto the pallet before it moves into the robotic loading position.
Once palletising is complete, the full pallet is conveyed away and automatically replaced with the next empty pallet. Triple-strand chain conveyors are used for the full-pallet conveying system to provide additional support for the specified export pallet construction and help reduce the risk of pallet deflection or damage during conveying.
Flexible Pallet Formats and Recipe Selection
The system is designed to handle both Australian pool pallets and export pallets. Two pallet patterns are included, allowing the operator to select the required product and pallet configuration through the HMI touchscreen. This recipe-based approach simplifies product changeovers while supporting accurate layer formation and consistent pallet loads.
The control system also provides automatic sequencing, fault monitoring, status recording and remote access capability. This allows Fibre King engineers to assist with diagnostics and technical support when the equipment is connected to the customer’s network.
Integrated Stretch Wrapping
Completed pallets are automatically transferred to a FROMM inline stretch wrapper. The wrapper is rated to handle pallet loads of up to 800 kg and stack heights of up to 1,200 mm. Its capacity of up to 20 pallets per hour is above the required output of the palletising cell. After wrapping, completed pallets move onto powered outfeed conveyors for forklift collection.
Additional Options Selected for the Project
To further support product protection, verification, traceability and operator visibility, the manufacturer selected several additional options as part of the complete palletising project:
A top-sheet applicator to provide additional protection from dust and moisture
Incoming QR-code verification to help prevent incorrect bags from being palletised
SSCC print-and-apply pallet labelling
Integration with the customer’s existing production data system
A secondary HMI to provide additional system visibility within the blending room
Expected Operational Outcomes
Following installation, commissioning and production ramp-up, the integrated system is expected to provide:
Reduced repetitive manual handling
More consistent bag positioning
Improved pallet pattern accuracy
Stable interlocked loads without protruding or overhanging bags
Reduced operator intervention across the palletising process
Automatic pallet dispensing and base-board application
Integrated stretch wrapping and finished-pallet handling
Improved load containment for storage and transport
Flexible handling of different bag weights and pallet formats
A scalable automation platform for future production growth
The system will allow operators to focus on pallet replenishment, consumables and process monitoring rather than manually lifting and positioning heavy bags throughout the production shift.
Bag Palletising Automation Designed for Growth
This project demonstrates how product conditioning, purpose-selected robotic gripping and automated pallet handling can be combined to create an integrated solution for flexible bags. The same engineering approach can be adapted for a wide range of bagged products, including:
Stock feed
Food and beverage ingredients
Premixes
Flour and powdered products
Grains and seeds
Pet food
Fertiliser
Agricultural products
Industrial powders and ingredients
Successful bag palletising depends on more than bag weight alone. Bag material, dimensions, fill consistency, sealing method, surface friction, residual air, product settling and the required pallet pattern all influence how the product should be conditioned, gripped and placed.
Fibre King assesses these variables when developing a palletising system around the manufacturer’s actual product, throughput, pallet formats and production environment.
About Fibre King
Fibre King is an Australian-owned OEM specialising in end-of-line packaging automation for food, beverage, pharmaceutical, personal care, FMCG, meat, fresh produce and industrial manufacturing operations. Backed by 100 years of engineering experience, Fibre King designs and integrates palletising systems for a wide range of production speeds, packaging formats and factory layouts.
Fibre King’s palletising range includes:
Collaborative robot palletisers
Compact modular palletisers
Low-level palletisers
Robotic arm palletisers
Robotic layer-forming systems
Medium-speed palletisers
High-speed palletising systems
Integrated pallet conveying and handling
These systems can handle bags, cartons, cases, trays, crates, shrink-wrapped products, tubs, pails and other packaged formats.
As an OEM, Fibre King maintains control over system design, integration and quality while providing customers with direct access to engineering expertise and long-term lifecycle support.
Support includes installation, commissioning, training, preventative maintenance, spare parts, remote assistance, system upgrades and ongoing optimisation across Australia and New Zealand.
Looking to Automate Bag Palletising?
Whether you are palletising stock feed, ingredients, premixes, agricultural products or another bagged format, Fibre King can develop a solution around your product, required throughput, pallet patterns and site constraints.
Contact the Fibre King team to discuss your bag palletising requirements.
1300 831 330
(+61 7 3293 8800)
