Andrew Donald Design Engineering Zero Footprint Palletiser

Andrew Donald Design Engineering (ADDE) has developed the Zero Footprint Palletiser, which is the first end-of-line automated palletising system for Australian standard pallets. It incorporates the UR10 robot to create a collaborative and flexible palletiser.

With most packing operations still finishing with an operator loading a carton onto a pallet manually, the company saw an industry need to find a solution that could automate one of the most physically demanding and back injury-prone tasks on the production line.

The palletiser takes no more space than a pallet on the floor and an operator and allows manufacturers to generate greater efficiency and safety across operations, while also enabling employees to work closely in collaboration with the palletiser.

To create the palletiser, the company started with a UR10 robot, which can work without safety caging or barriers (subject to a risk assessment) and then added the hardware and software needed to achieve an affordable, easy-to-deploy product with minimal footprint that can reach an Australian standard pallet.

It can place up to six cases/min onto a pallet and carry boxes weighing up to 8 kg. The palletiser can also be configured for single pallets for minimum footprint or in a double-pallet configuration for automatic pallet changing.