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Palletizers Industry Information
Palletizers and palletizer systems are machines that
arrange products on a pallet for shipping, storing or moving. Palletizers
have a feed area that receives the goods that are to be palletized. The
feed area can be at ground level (low level) or at high level through
a hopper overhead. While low level palletizers are fed from the ground
level, products are fed to high level palletizers from an overhead hopper.
The feed is received in a rolling or flowing fashion, in both cases,
and is continuously transferred to the pallets, allowing for greater
speed. Palletizers without feeds are usually robotic. In this case, the
arm individually picks up, orients and places the individual item on
the pallet. These robotic palletizers are often used with products that
are fragile or heavy. The use of palletizers in these situations reduces
the risk of injury to the workers and damage to the product.
Palletizer systems are used in packaging situations that require multiple
units to be shipped or stored together. Placing the units on the pallet
makes stacking, storing and moving the loads easier and more efficient.
Packaging and shipping companies are the main users of palletizers as
well as companies who do their own shipping. Palletizers can work with
drums, sacks, bags, pails, cans, cases and various other product types.
When looking for palletizers, it is important to consider the type of
goods the machine will be required to handle, as not all palletizers
are equipped to handle all package types.
Automatic and robotic palletizers have many advantages for companies
thinking of purchasing palletizers. Palletizing units can work faster
and have better consistency than a more costly human operator has. They
can withstand harsh environments better and are less likely to be injured
than a human is. These units also come with some safety features like
QuickSTOP collision sensors and work cell perimeter guards called Smartscan.
QuickSTOP has sensors that will shut down the work cell and deflate to
absorb impact, which minimizes damage to tooling and the product. Smartscan
has L- and T- shaped curtain units that are advanced enough to detect
a pallet or a person being passed through the system. If a pallet is
detected in the work cell, it is allowed to pass through, but if a person
is detected, then movement is stopped immediately in a matter of seconds.
Automatic and robotic palletizers generally appeal to users with mid-
to high range needs. Users with low range needs assume palletizing units
are out of their budget, but most suppliers claim you can purchase palletizers
and palletizer systems from the money you could save from avoiding just
one back injury. To figure out what palletizers type is best for your
company, you must consider how many lines of output will be distributing
to the palletizers, if your conveyors release products at low level or
high level, the way you assemble pallets, the type and size of pallets
you use and the speed of your conveyor line.
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