Tobacco Manufacturer Increases Production Rates with FANUC Robotic Palletizing System

Customer Problem

The customer was hand palletizing and stretch wrapping two different product lines: one for moist pouches and another for loose leaf. The cases were conveyed to an operator who hand-picked and placed the cases on a pallet. A tier sheet was then manually placed between layers. A pallet jack completed the pallet to a semi-automatic stretch wrapper for wrapping and distribution. Wanting to automate the processes, a robotic palletizing system was designed to meet the customer’s specific requirements.

Adaptec Robotic Palletizer Solution

The customer wanted to increase production rates and automate processes for the two products. Integrating a FANUC M-410iC robotic palletizer, two palletizing systems were built with Hytrol and SpanTech conveyors – a moist pouch palletizer and loose leaf palletizer.

The moist pouch palletizer produced 1.6 picks per minute, totaling 8 cases per minute (5-case pick and palletize with pallet and slip sheet picks). The loose leaf palletizer produced 1.5 picks per minute, totaling 2 cases per minute (3-case pick and palletize with pallet and slip sheet picks).

Products Used

• FANUC M-410iC palletizing robot

• Hytrol Conveyor

• SpanTech Conveyor