L O G I S T I C S ROBOT TACKLES MONOTONOUS The first end-of-line automated palletising system PALLET STACKING JOB UR10 robot to create a collaborative and flexible palletiser that eliminates the need for operators loading cartons onto pallets manually. The company’s certified system integrator Andrew Donald Design Engineering (ADDE) has seen a need to find a solution that can automate one of the most physically demanding and back-injury-prone tasks on the production line, creating the Zero Footprint Palletiser (ZFP). Taking no more space than a pallet on the floor, the ZFP allows manufacturers to generate greater efficiency and safety across operations, and ADDE managing director Barry Hendy says the company started with a UR10 robot which can work without safety caging or barriers. “We then added the hardware and software needed to achieve an affordable, minimal-footprint and easy-to-deploy solution FT353 for Australian and New Zealand standard pallets has incorporated Denmark-based Universal Robot’s 36 SEPTEMBER 2017 that can reach an Australian standard pallet. The intuitive nature of the UR10 provided a great starting point for us to build a flexible, easily programmable solution that takes up minimal factory floor space.” Manually-handled palletising can lead to a number of occupational health and safety (OH&S) issues for both manufacturers and their employees, with musculoskeletal disorders costing more than half of Australia’s $61 billion work-related injury cost to the Australian economy. Universal Robots general manager for SEA and Oceania Shermine Gotfredsen says medical issues associated with manual handling can be avoided and workers freed up to work on less laborious tasks. “However, the collaborative nature of Universal Robots’ UR10 robotic arm also means that staff are enabled to work in conjunction with robots along the production line, unlike with traditional industrial machines where safety barriers often prevent employees from working close to machinery.”
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