March 2004Maintenance, Test & Measurement, Calibration
Siemens researchers have developed a robot that can optimally stack cardboard boxes of different sizes on pallets at great speed, thereby taking a major load off the staff of supermarkets' warehouse facilities. Using intelligently designed software, the automatic machine achieves a packing density of more than 80%, while a professional packer reaches a maximum of just 75 to 80%.
The machine, developed with the Kuka Roboter Company in Augsburg, Germany, can place up to 350 boxes an hour, equivalent to approximately one every 10 seconds. With additional process improvements, the speed of the pilot facility will be increased even further. Logistics specialists from Siemens Dematic are currently working on the first custom-made applications.
Previously, it was up to the trained eye of the pallet worker to stack products flowing from an assembly line onto pallets for individual customers in a way that saved as much space as possible. Supermarkets, in particular, receive shipments every day that have to be stacked this way. In the process, a worker moves tons of products daily.
In the new facility, gripping arms, assembly lines, sensors and control engineering work together precisely. Using a camera, the robot locates the boxes. The software turns the video image into three-dimensional data for the gripping arm, which knows just where the product is positioned.
In order to lift different-sized packages, the robot has to switch its gripping arms within seconds. These are coated metal plates that use vacuum suction to hold the packages. The robot then places the products on the palettes, starting at the corners and then moving to the centre. The robot, which is the size of a horse, then fills in any vacant space with smaller packages. A bar code label is placed on each box as an identifying marking. When a new box format arrives, the label is read at the receiving bay and recognised later.
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