Posted to News on 8th Jul 2021, 09:15
Tasteful to the pallet
A new palletising automation kit has been launched by RARUK to tackle repetitive tasks
Palletising is a simple, repetitive task that lends itself perfectly to robotic automation – and a new kit from RARUK Automation is said to make the transition both easy and quick.
Its new Robotiq Palletising Kit, states the company, “provides the means to install, set-up and configure the solution to boost production efficiency, with hardware and software supplied ready-connected for a plug and play solution. Designed for use with RARUK Automation's Universal Robots, it provides manufacturers – irrespective of their size – with all the elements necessary to easily upgrade from manual to fully automated handling and the flexibility to re-programme the solution, should the need arise”.
Small footprint
The solution has a small footprint, eliminating the need to re-organise the floor layout around a central robot and is capable of palletising up to 13 x 8kg boxes per minute; exact capacity is determined by box weight, dimensions, surface, pallet dimensions and layout. The kit comprises a robot base; vertical seventh axis, Robotiq gripper, bracket and suction cups; status lights, pallet and box sensors; cable management system and Robotiq Material Handling Copilot software.
An important element is the fully integrated vertical seventh axis. “Not only does this feature save time at the installation stage, it also means motion control is optimised to maximise the system's return on investment. Additionally, seamless movements enhance the operational life of the cobot.”
Powerful vacuum
The Robotiq Airpick gripper, supplied as standard, creates a powerful vacuum via an external pneumatic vacuum generator. A tailor-made gripping solution can be created to suit the application, as several suction cups are included in the kit.
“Application set-up is accomplished in three simple steps directly on the robot control device. All that's needed are the box dimensions and weight; pallet and conveyor dimensions; pallet pattern and number of layers required. The system will then optimise all trajectories and robot movements.”
RARUK Automation also hosts a palletising simulator on its website, so customers can prove the suitability of the Robotiq Palletising Solution for any given application before commitment. Once the keyed-in values are validated, it will advise how many boxes per minute can be palletised, providing key performance indicators to support the investment.
