Robotic Case Packing Overview
Motion Controls Robotics updated an existing single-line palletizing system by reprogramming it to handle cases and adding a case packing robot at the front end. We recently designed and installed a single line palletizing system for this customer. We described the single line robotic palletizer in a previous article where we showed a system for palletizing wrapped product.
Customer Challenge
- Switch from wrapped product to case-packed product.
- Maintain a consistent target rate of 200 bottles per minute.
- Handle product weight variation (light spices vs. denser spices) without losing stability or throughput.
Case Packing Process
Robot & End of Arm Tooling
The case packing robot selected was a FANUC LR Mate 200iD/7L for reach and speed. The EOAT was designed for the product’s lid size and uses inline vacuum generation to pick and place bottles into cases.
Safety Features
The system includes safety fencing and cell entry gates with safety interlock switches and follows A3/RIA guidance for safe robot operation.
Customer Results
- Fully automated flow: erect → pack → seal → palletize.
- Packaging format changed without rebuilding the line from scratch.
- System designed to maintain rate target while managing product variability.
