Over the past few years, it’s been impossible to ignore the growing trend toward robotic palletizing to solve labor shortage woes and maintain business continuity. This is a very positive move as it means that companies are increasingly recognizing the impact of automation and robots on their business.
As more companies turn to palletizing robots, we’ve also observed new and interesting use cases we hadn't accounted for when we first released the Robotiq Palletizing Solution.
Operators have been looking for a palletizing solution that can be used in a wider variety of situations. They seek to more effectively manage a continuously growing array of products and packaging types. Flexibility is key.
At Robotiq, we always try to make robot deployment as easy as possible. We don't want people to have to put in all the hard work to create custom robotic solutions if an off-the-shelf solution can fit.
That's why we are excited to announce the release of our next-generation palletizing gripper and palletizing software feature.
Say hello to PowerPick and multipick
The PowerPick gripper and the multipick software feature are both designed to extend the range of applications that can benefit from our Palletizing Solution, both in payload and throughput.
PowerPick can carry heavy cases of up to 11.5 kg (25 lbs)!
The multipick feature allows you to pick up two or more boxes at a time. This makes it the perfect solution to match production lines where volumes are higher. In some cases, this will result in a 100% increase (or more!) in throughput capability.
With these new releases, we expect even more businesses will find that our Palletizing Solution works for them.
PowerPick: The powerful gripper for robust palletizing tasks
PowerPick is a vacuum gripper designed specifically for palletizing purposes. It offers flexibility to help you manage a wide range of box sizes, shapes, weights, and packaging materials. It is also reliable when exposed to less controlled conditions such as humidity and fine dust.
Some of its attributes include:
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Load Capacity: PowerPick carries heavy loads and supports cases of up to 11.5 kg (25 lbs).
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Adaptability: PowerPick offers 46 different handling options, which significantly reduces the need for custom grippers when you handle various box types.
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Gripper Modes: Single, Dual or even Quadruple Gripper. This allows you to mount multiple PowerPick units on the same arm, increasing throughput for small and lightweight boxes.
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Installation: Setup is straightforward and assembling parts only requires an Allen key.
When coupled with the PowerPick, the Robotiq Palletizing Solution covers more application scenarios and makes it easier for businesses to manage various production line requirements across plants or regions.
Multipick: Adding more flexibility to your picks
Multipick is a new feature that improves the speed and flexibility of your palletizing operation. It unlocks higher throughput at the end of the line, no matter what pallet pattern you use. Multipick also covers multi-box patterns, which means you could have two different products on a single pallet.
Multipick benefits span:
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Performance: Multipick allows you to increase the throughput of your palletizing operations by picking multiple boxes simultaneously.
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Flexibility: It fosters picking a wider range of palletizing patterns with more flexibility.
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Label Orientation: It supports label orientation, which is not always possible with alternative solutions.
The possibilities built into multipick to speed up production lines and also advance-equip you for future needs are huge. For example, with a PowerPick and a Quadruple Gripper, you could go up to 4 grippers with 2 small, equal payload boxes each. That is an 8-box pick all at once!
What customers asked for and how we delivered
Why release the PowerPick gripper and the multipick feature? Because businesses are grasping the advantages of end-of-line automation and have been asking for ways to do even more with their palletizing solution.
Among the items on their wish-list, which these two releases deliver on:
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Higher throughput in terms of speed and payload.
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A greater degree of control over boxes in multiple pick situations.
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A standard gripper that can pick heavier and porous cardboard boxes.
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A complete robotic palletizing solution that requires little-to-no customization.
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Higher throughputs, even with complex pallet patterns.
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A quicker deployment time with less requirement for third-party components.
With PowerPick and multipick, we have responded to these needs while adding to the flexibility of our existing Palletizing Solution.
Find out if PowerPick or multipick is right for you
We hope that these two additions to our Palletizing Solution help even more manufacturers benefit from robotic palletizing.
We also hope you’ll get in touch to determine whether either or both innovations could enhance your palletizing operations, and learn how to get started integrating them in your day-to-day. In the meantime, try the configurator and see how both features extend the range of applications fit.
What questions do you have about PowerPick and multipick? Talk with one of our experts below or join the discussion on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, or the DoF professional robotics community.
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