Automatic palletisers for plastic bottles from APEX Automation and Robotics

APEX Automation and Robotics offers a wide range of machines for the plastic blow moulding industry. The APP 420S is a compact Automatic Palletiser that can run a variety of bottles at a production rate of up to 2000 bottles/hr. The APP 440S is a slightly larger unit that has contains an accumulation table and can palletise more than 5000 bottles/hr.

After the pallet is loaded in the Palletiser, it is raised to the palletising station by a motorised lifter. A 2-axis module with vacuum cups is used to pick up a layer pad off a stack and place it on the pallet.

The bottles are collected one row at a time then stacked on the top of the layer pad. When a layer is complete, the pallet lifter drops one bottle height and the 2-axis manipulator cycles to place a layer pad on the top of the bottles. The next layer of bottles is palletised and so on until the pallet is complete.

The custom-designed pallet lifter drops the finished pallet all the way down to floor level so that it can be handled by a pallet jack without the need of a fork truck in the production area.

The machine is controlled by a PLC with a user-friendly HMI (Human Machine Interface), and safeguarding includes interlocked gates and a set of Cat 4 light curtains for easy and safe access.

One of the main features of the APP 420S and APP 440S automatic palletisers, is that they are flexible and need very little setup time to run different products. The conveyor entry and palletising station can be arranged to suit any factory layout, and a pallet conveyor can be ordered as an option.

Apex Automation and Robotics is one of the leading suppliers of automation equipment for the plastic industry and their range of products also includes robotic systems for complex packing and palletising configurations.