Endoline Robotics, working closely with strategic partner FANUC, has created a ‘plug & play’ robotic palletising solution, to meet the needs of the animal feed industry.

The ‘in a box’ robotic solution can be customised to directly meet specific demands and overcome the challenges faced by the industry.

Worth over £5.5 billion in the UK, the animal feed industry produces food products which are often large and bulky, and difficult to palletise by hand. Products of differing sizes, weights and shape are frequently run through the same line, making automation challenging.

Offering a fast Return on Investment, Endoline Robotics’ palletising solution is built to a small footprint – ideal for animal feed factory floors where space is often at a premium.

Powered by a FANUC robotic arm, the system is fitted with a bespoke mechanical gripper which can be programmed to pick up and accurately palletise bags of varying weights – at a speed of up to 12 bags per minute. The robust grippers have been manufactured to handle the wide range of packaging, including hessian and glossy materials, associated with the animal feed industry which can be inherently difficult to handle.

Filled bags arrive at the infeed of the palletising cell, which is pre-installed with a special mechanism for flattening the bags, making them easier to manoeuvre, while enhancing the stack ability of the pallet.

The robot picks the bags and placing them onto the pallet, under a pre-defined pattern which maximises load stability. The full pallet is then either removed by the operator, or auto discharged on a roller conveyor. Offering 24/7 operation, with a long-life expectancy, manufacturers can typically expect payback on their investment within 2 to 3 years.

“Through our partnership with FANUC, we have created a solution which directly meets the challenges faced by the animal feed industry, while also helping them increase productivity and drive growth.” Grigory Belosky, Sales Director for Endoline Robotics. “The system has not only been built to a compact, space saving footprint, it can also be easily moved between production lines to manage output, offering infinite flexibility.”

Similar system design can be used in various other industries packing products into bags: Agriculture, Building products, Chemicals and others.

Endoline Robotics also offers additional options for manufacturers including, auto-replenishment of empty pallets, interlayer sheet, palletising multiple pallets simultaneously and stretch wrapping.