Palletizing Robot

Overview

A palletizing robot is an articulated arm that stacks finished cases, cartons, bags, or trays onto pallets at the discharge of a packaging or filling line. It is purpose-built for one motion: pick a unit load from an infeed conveyor and place it accurately onto a growing pallet stack, then repeat hundreds of times an hour. Because that task only needs the tool kept level and rotated to a programmed orientation, the arm uses four axes rather than the six of a general manipulator. A Parallelogram Link parallelogram linkage ties the upper-arm motion to the wrist, so the Wrist stays horizontal automatically and the fourth axis only has to spin the load to the right angle.

How it works

The arm is a chain of cast links, Base & Turntable, lower arm, upper arm, and wrist, each driven by an identical Servo Joint. Every joint pairs an AC AC Servo Motor with a near-zero-backlash Harmonic Reducer (a strain-wave gearbox), an absolute encoder for position feedback, and a spring-applied brake that locks the axis when power is removed. A Servo Drive amplifier closes the current and velocity loops for each axis. A Spring Balancer on the lower arm offsets gravity so the J2 motor can be sized for acceleration rather than holding torque, which is what lets a mid-size arm move a 180 kg load quickly.

The end effector, the EOAT Gripper, is matched to the product. Zoned vacuum cups handle sealed cases and trays, while pneumatic side clamps grip open trays or layers of bags; a Venturi generator makes the vacuum from shop compressed air. The Controller Cabinet cabinet holds the motion compute, one servo drive per axis, field I/O, and a safety relay; it plans each trajectory, sequences the gripper, and coordinates with the conveyor. An operator builds and edits stacking patterns from the Teach Pendant, a rugged touchscreen with an emergency stop and enabling switch. Power, feedback, and tool air run through the Dress-Out Cabling energy chain that flexes with the arm so nothing snags as it cycles between the infeed and the pallet.