Robot-assisted palletizing system
Automated shipping does not require much space
Ro-Ber installed a robot-assisted palletizing system including the Ro-Pack software package in a limited space at the direct sales company Reca Norm. The software ensures optimum use of space, volume utilization and pallet stability.
Reca Norm is a direct sales company with 74,000 customers in the tools and fastening technology sector in trade and industry. In addition to the highest possible customer benefit, the delivery service is also important. This is characterized by the following features: shipping throughout Europe, delivery availability of 99 percent, orders received by 4 p.m. leave the company on the same day, next-day delivery rate of 98 percent. 4,000 orders and 18,000 items are processed daily, 4,000 parcels and 150 pallets are handed over to the forwarders and 50 tons of goods are dispatched every day.
A significant part of the annually growing shipping volume is handled via the central warehouse at the company headquarters in Kupferzell. Previously, the shipping cartons were palletized manually, which resulted in considerable physical strain for the employees. The decision was therefore made to automate the palletizing of shipping cartons.
As part of the planning, the logistics planner Würth Logistics carried out a data analysis of the existing infrastructure and determined that Reca Norm uses three types of cardboard, standardized and modularized in terms of footprint. However, due to the highly heterogeneous product range, the carton height varies considerably. As a result, a distinction is generally made between "original cartons", "smooth cartons" and "bulky cartons" with a non-leveled carton top.
Flexible and expandable
The robot specialist and system supplier Ro-Ber Industrieroboter from Kamen was ultimately awarded the contract to create a robot-assisted palletizing system. Decisive factors for the selection were the flexibility and simple expandability of the gantry robots used, the system concept taking into account all safety-related aspects, the software for pallet planning and the standard option of system integration.
The first task was to verify the data determined by the logistics planner Würth. The project specialists from Ro-Ber therefore initially developed a measuring station and integrated it on site as a separate element in the existing conveyor system. Over a longer period of time, the necessary data was verified and the data connection to the existing control system was developed. The data obtained also formed the basis for a simulation of the pallet planning software to be created.
The planned system layout, the software concept and the gripper system were gradually adapted to the actual conditions based on these findings and the data obtained. Due to the carton geometry and the snap-on lids, a pneumatically actuated clamping gripper was used, which makes it possible to pick up two cartons at the same time.
Other challenges included the limited space available and the ability to expand the system in terms of performance, thanks to the possibility of using additional gantry robot carriages in the existing support frame, and further dispatch targets, thanks to the possible integration of additional palletizing stations.
Automation in a small space
The result: Use of a highly dynamic Genix FP150 area gantry robot with telescopic axis, form-fit gripping using a pneumatically actuated double gripper, pallet conveyor technology with an upstream empty pallet magazine and a fully automatic ring wrapper downstream of the palletizing, Carton conveyor technology with measuring station and sorting comb, designed for direct access by the robot system, control technology for the system by the robot controller itself, Ro-Pack planning software for online planning of the appropriate layer patterns and the data connection to the in-house ERP system.
The implemented system is located in the dispatch area of Reca Norm and only requires an area of 5.5 by twelve meters. The concept is characterized above all by the special arrangement of the carton conveyor technology and the pallet conveyor technology with the ring wrapper and enables highly available system operation through consistent division into dedicated safety areas.
Ro-Ber describes the Ro-Pack software package as the highlight of the system. The data determined by the measuring station is transmitted to the system and the target position of the carton in the sorting comb is then assigned online. Ro-Pack manages this sorting comb and at the same time determines the optimum layer pattern on the pallet to ensure optimum use of space, volume utilization and stability of the pallet for the transport process. as
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