The Material Handling Blog

Most manufacturers are well aware that manual palletizing is no easy job. Awkward movements, repetitive motions and production requirements make for a challenging process that is difficult to keep staffed. Throw in the requirement that handled products are +50lb bags – which can be unwieldly and hard to hold and balance – and a difficult job to staff becomes a close to impossible. This is a well-known challenge for any manufacturers that handle bags, totes or oddly shaped items like tires. The geometry of an item can pose a challenge just like weight and size. Robotic bag palletizing is a tried-and-true automation solution that allows for the reallocation of your staff to avoid costly on-the-job injuries and increased job satisfaction. The automation will also result in higher line uptimes and greater throughputs to be handled.

For many distribution centers, unloading trailers and placing inbound product on pallets can be very labor-intensive. There are often hundreds to thousands of boxes in each trailer and these boxes can be large, heavy and hard to reach meaning most reaching, lifting and moving of boxes is done manually. Additionally, the environment inside the trailer can range from cold to extremely hot making it, at times, particularly uncomfortable. As a whole, finding and keeping labor for this essential work often presents a problem. Introducing the right automation to your palletizing operations can address labor availability challenges while also improving margins, throughput and operational flexibility.

Putting a bag on a pallet and conveying it is a simple enough concept; however, the variations in product must always be kept in mind if you want to prevent product damage and misaligned pallets. Here are five points to remember when using bag palletizing systems... Read More >>

Bastian Robotics recently redesigned and upgraded our robotic bag palletizing End of Arm Tool (EoAT) to accommodate a wider range of products with the same base tool. Similar to past renditions, this tool still has a clamshell design and interfaces with our custom bag pick conveyor.