End-of-line palletizing project with Pal 4.0 and double infeed

End-of-line palletizing equipment destined for a leading European food producer. Designed to automatically handle several different products, such as cases, trays, or shrink-wrapped packs, reaching the total capacity of up to 130 pieces per minute.

The customer chose this Scott solution to increase the output capacity, reduce manual intervention and increase the quality of pallet stacks at one of its production sites. The Scott solution replaces two existing palletizers with just one, resulting in higher line efficiency, a lower cost of ownership, and far more efficient use of floor space.

Project Highlights

The project includes the latest high-level Alvey 4.0 palletizer, equipped with an inter-sheet applicator station. The Alvey 4.0 palletizer was designed using the latest technology. Its clean and lean design brings easy and comfortable operation and maintenance, together with optimized energy consumption.

The project features include:

• Double lane product infeed conveyor system with zero pressure, which is very gentle to the products.
• A system works with two pallet types: the EURO pallets and industrial pallets. The empty pallets are stored in pallet dispensers, which feed the desired pallet type to the palletizer automatically, based on the specific product to be palletized. The split apron makes for precise and gentle product deposition and allows patterns with gaps. This is further supported by an under-apron centering device.
• The products are transported on AccuGlides conveyors - the zero pressure case conveyors, which excel at extremely gentle handling whilst closing up any gaps in the product feed
• A high-speed pallet lift, which brings the pallet right below the apron, where it is accurately aligned by an electric centering device.
• The inter-layer sheets are inserted by means of an integrated applicator, taking the sheets from an adjacent sheet dispenser. Based on the program, all layers are quickly deposited, resulting in a very precise stack on the pallet and the full pallet is driven out on the outfeed conveyor system.
• To maximize the palletizing capacity, the infeed is realized in two parallel conveyor lines, which converge just before the palletizer. Here the individual products are oriented by a low-impact turner device, based on a pre-programmed layer pattern. They continue inside the palletizer, where the rows and complete product layers are formed by a patented servo-driven pusher bar. The uniquely clean and open design of the palletizer gives a clear overview of the whole process, ensuring easy operator access for quick recovery or maintenance, reducing stoppages significantly.
• The whole palletizing equipment operates smoothly in maximum safety. In cases of emergency, it is equipped with easily accessible e-stop buttons that will stop the machine immediately. The pallet load will be blocked from any movement by means of a pallet lift blocking device. Additionally, Operators can see the actual product patterns on the control panel screen, together with real-time data and statistics. The user-friendly touch interface enables easy change of settings and new pattern creation. The machine can also be linked to the customer's production control system.