Robotic Vs Mechanical Palletisers

A hot topic within production facilities throughout Australia is which type of palletiser is better, Mechanical or Robotic? And the only correct answer is, “It depends”. There are pros and cons for both solutions and the best choice really depends on; space constraints, production rates, technical support required and customer preference.

Mechanical palletisers typically:

take up less floor space
require less technical maintenance
are often considered less flexible when compared to Robotic palletisers

Mechanical palletisers are ideally suited to one production line which runs multiple products individually throughout the course of the day. The production rates for mechanical palletisers vary from low to very high speed. New products can be added to mechanical palletisers and new parts maybe required depending on pallet pattern and product sizes.

Project: Colonial Brewing mechanical palletising of beer cans.

Robotic palletisers typically:

take up more floor space
may require higher skilled maintenance technicians
are generally more flexible

Robotic palletisers are ideally suited to applications where the production line produces multiple products at slow rates as one robot can palletise different products to different locations at the same time. If the production rates increase, multiple robots maybe required to keep up. New products can be added and some manufactures include software to allow operators to add new products and pallet patterns. Production rates for robot palletisers is typically low to medium. Additional pallet patterns and products which can be added may be limited by the end effector fitted to the robot.

The critical component for any robot palletiser is the end effector aka the gripper head which comes in many different options. Some examples are vacuum, side grip, tine and full layer. Different products may require different handling methods and as such one end effector doesn’t suit all. If a change of end effector is required between products this can be time consuming and costly to automate.

Project: DA Hall robotic palletising cases of eggs.

Both mechanical and robotic palletisers can be systemised to include multiple machines with common pallet handling for large installations where multiple production lines feed the palletisers.

Fibre King built its name on palletisers, they are reliable, efficient and economical in their applications. Whether your throughput is low, medium or highly-automated high-speed we have a palletising solution that will suit your needs. We work with you to provide a solution that meets your budget, space constraints and can be integrated within your current production line/s.

Our palletisers are in use throughout the world including Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Middle East, China, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and South Africa.

The first one we manufactured was still in operation after 30 years of hard work!

*For more information on choosing the right palletising solution for your facility then read this article: Choosing a Palletising System Just Got Easier. Our 10 Point Checklist.

*Click here to see our range

Contact us on 07 3293 8800 or sales@fibreking.com for a quote.