Palletizing Automation / Pallet Stacking / Factory Automation / Car Battery / Hankook & Company / Marosol / Yaskawa Industrial Robot

What is Pallet Stacking Automation?

Pallet stacking automation refers to the process of loading products or materials onto pallets using a robotic arm and optimizing the stacking positions. This is also called palletizing automation and is mainly used in logistics and manufacturing.

By simply implementing an automated pallet stacking process, you can increase work efficiency and productivity while reducing the labor intensity for workers. It also guarantees consistency in work, which is why more and more companies are adopting it.

Today, we will take a detailed look at a case where Marosol, a total robot solution provider, implemented pallet stacking automation at a Hankook & Company battery factory. We have invited Han Ji-seop, the Marosol expert who realized this automation solution! 🎤

Q1. Hello, Ji-seop! Please give us a detailed explanation of this Hankook & Company factory automation solution.

The automation solution designed by Marosol this time was introduced with the goal of automatically stacking car batteries onto pallets. Hankook & Company produces Atlas batteries and exports them to various countries. As a result, the pallet standards and desired palletizing patterns differed by country, and the variety of products was inevitably diverse.

Combining all the stacking patterns by country and product, there were over 200 cases. The core of this solution is for the robotic arm to recognize these cases on its own and automatically stack them in the desired pattern.

Q2. It wasn't just simple car battery stacking automation! The fatigue level of the workers must have been very high before automation.

That’s right. Before automation, four workers manually stacked car batteries weighing up to 60kg. It was a repetitive task with significant weight, posing risks of musculoskeletal disorders and serious injuries in case of a fall, making it a top-priority task to avoid. Even with four people working, there were many issues in terms of productivity and efficiency due to an unsmooth logistics cycle.

Fortunately, through this palletizing automation, the number of workers per line was reduced from four to one, and the safety rate increased by 85%. On average, we have secured the palletizing of 2,000 large units and 4,000 medium units per day.

Q3. What are the main features of this palletizing automation project?

The biggest advantage of this project is that we standardized the models according to the pallet, battery size, and stacking pattern, and that these standardized models can be generated infinitely.

By entering the pallet and battery dimensions on the PLC touch screen and selecting the desired pattern (80 basics), a combination of auto-centering based on the pallet, automatic position correction for battery size, and step correction functions allows for the infinite generation of models within the mechanical limits.

Q4. So you’re saying palletizing automation can be done by creating models for various variables through touch operation!

Yes, that’s correct. We provided a customized solution so that customers can work easily and conveniently. The worker simply selects the pallet size, battery type, and quantity on the screen, and the robotic arm automatically stacks them onto the pallet according to the corresponding battery and pattern.

Q5. Have there been similar automation solutions? Similar calculation programs already exist in some systems. However, in most cases, they were designed to lift only one product per robotic arm, failing to secure the cycle time.

In the automation solution provided by Marosol, one robotic arm can lift and stack up to three products at a time, capturing both productivity and efficiency while securing the cycle time.

Q6. Please explain the overall flow of the current palletizing process step by step.

[Pallet transport and alignment at the same time] To secure a smooth logistics cycle, de-stacked pallets are aligned simultaneously as they are transported to the battery palletizing position. Once the task is complete, the pallet is transported to the discharge position.

[Automatic battery alignment according to pattern] After automatically aligning the batteries input from the in-line into 1st, 2nd (serial/parallel), and 3rd tiers according to the set palletizing pattern, the robotic arm repeats the operation of discharging and resetting.

[Stacking on pallets with a robotic arm] After sending the aligned batteries to the palletizing position on the conveyor side, the pick-and-place operation is repeated according to the designated position and number of layers.

[Honeycomb feeder & aligner] It automatically aligns and inputs the honeycombs that go into each layer of NO BOX specification batteries according to the settings.

Q7. Please explain the specs of the robot used in the project in detail.

The robot used for this pallet stacking automation is the Yaskawa industrial robot GP225. Just as the "GP" in the GP series stands for General Purpose, it can be deployed across all industries. It can lift a wide range of products from a low payload of 8kg up to 250kg.

In this project, the GP250 was deployed, allowing it to lift three 60kg car batteries at a time without any issues.

Q8. Does Marosol have other solutions using the Yaskawa industrial robot GP250?

Car wheel handling using the Yaskawa GP250 Click to see more details about this introduction case.

The video you saw above shows the automation of a process handling heavy car wheels using the YASKAWA GP250.

Car wheels are heavy workpieces weighing over 8kg, making it a difficult process for workers to handle manually. However, through factory automation, handling up to two wheels at a time increased productivity and improved worker satisfaction. 📈

Continuous work was possible while maintaining the conveyor transport operation for both input and discharge. Also, by clamping the bottom of the conveyor jig, we were able to minimize errors caused by position deviations.

Q9. Is there a reason why I should introduce a palletizing automation solution through Marosol?

First, Marosol provides robot automation at the industry's lowest price. To solve the price issue, which is a major concern when introducing automation, Marosol developed the first robot financial products. Through this, companies can purchase robots through leases, rentals, and 12-month interest-free installments. Furthermore, Marosol saves costs by directly purchasing robots in bulk from manufacturers, allowing us to provide high-quality solutions at the industry's lowest price.

Click to check the special exhibition page.

In addition, Marosol is home to automation experts with over 40 years of total experience who have successfully performed automation projects for large corporations. These experts design and implement robot solutions tailored to customer needs, realizing definitive automation in a short period. This rich experience and expertise are why Marosol is trusted. Hankook & Company and other large corporations have introduced palletizing solutions with confidence, significantly contributing to solidifying Marosol's expertise in the automation field.

Q10. How can I introduce palletizing automation through Marosol?

Click the banner below to receive a 15-minute free consultation and an instant free quote. Marosol robot experts are available 24 hours a day, so feel free to leave an inquiry at your convenience, and we will assist you with everything from free consultation to the issuance of quotes.

Recently, Marosol's skills have been recognized, leading to automation projects for large corporations such as Samsung C&T and Incheon International Airport. We will take responsibility from free consulting to design and after-sales management. Thank you! 🤗

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