From manual to automated: How can palletizing technology improve factory efficiency by 300%?

1.Manual VS Automation: Improving the Efficiency of Palletizing Technology

Disadvantages of manual palletizing

Low efficiency

Slow speed: A skilled worker can only stack 200-300 boxes per hour (depending on weight and size).

Easy to fatigue: After working for 2 hours continuously, the efficiency drops by more than 30%.

Safety hazards

Risk of work-related injuries: Repeated handling of heavy objects can easily lead to lumbar muscle strain and joint injury.

Unstable stacking: Manual palletizing is prone to tilting and collapse, causing damage to goods.

High cost

Labor cost: Based on a monthly salary of ¥5,000 per person, the annual cost of a 10-person palletizing team is ¥600,000.

Training and management: New employees need 1-2 weeks to adapt, and high mobility affects production stability.

Efficiency breakthrough of automatic palletizers

Core advantages

Technical support

Robotic arm palletizing: 6-axis joint robot flexibly adapts to different box types, with a grasping speed of 1.5 seconds per time.

Visual recognition system: AI camera automatically identifies the size and placement of goods, and dynamically adjusts the grasping strategy.

Adaptive algorithm: Optimize the stacking path according to the weight and material of the box to avoid collapse.

2. Common problems and maintenance methods of automatic palletizers

• Abnormal movement of the robot arm (stuck/deviated)

Possible causes

Servo motor overload: load exceeds limit or parameter setting is incorrect.

Reducer wear: long-term use leads to excessive gear clearance.

Loose rail/belt: mechanical vibration causes positioning deviation.

Solution

Self-check:

Check the motor temperature (normal ≤60℃), and stop cooling if overheating.

Move the robot arm manually to listen for abnormal sounds (signs of wear).

Use a level to check the parallelism of the rail (error must be ≤0.1mm/m).

Professional maintenance:

Replace reducer grease (once every 2,000 hours).

Recalibrate the servo motor encoder.

• Failed to grasp (suction cup/clamp failure)

Possible causes

Quick self-check process:

Manually trigger the grab command and observe whether the air valve is working.

Spray the air path with soapy water to find the leak point.

• Pallet stacking is uneven (collapse/misalignment)

Root cause

Wrong stacking algorithm: not adapted to box size changes (such as new product packaging).

Conveyor belt is not synchronized: speed does not match the robot arm grab rhythm.

Pallet deformation: wooden pallets are damp and warped, and plastic pallets are worn.

Solution

Parameter adjustment:

Re-enter the box length, width and height data on the HMI interface.

Adjust the conveyor belt inverter to match the robot arm beat.

Hardware maintenance:

Check the flatness of the pallet every month (error ≤2mm).

Replace the guide rod buffer pad (aging of rubber parts can easily cause vibration).

• Electrical system failure (power failure/short circuit)

Preventive inspection list

Daily: Check whether the cabinet cooling fan is running.

Weekly: Tighten the terminal block screws (vibration can easily loosen).

Monthly: Measure the motor insulation resistance (≥1MΩ).

Emergency treatment:

Immediately press the emergency stop button to cut off the main power supply.

Check whether the circuit breaker is tripped and eliminate the short circuit point.

Contact an electrician to check the status of the PLC module (do not operate with power on).

3. Daily maintenance plan (key to extend life)