Vacuum area gripping system FMC for lifting rows of workpieces from a roller conveyor for the purpose of palletizing

Previously, the 10 kg cardboard boxes were manually lifted from the roller conveyor by an employee and set on a pallet. The resulting physical strain and long cycle times called for an improvement in the process. An area gripping system from Schmalz provided the solution.

The Vacuum area gripping system FMC is especially suited for palletizing cardboard boxes. The area gripping system is equipped with a sealing foam, which allows cardboard boxes of different sizes to be lifted quickly and easily from undefined positions. A conventional portal could not be installed because of the low room height of the production facility. The gripper was therefore modified to pick up objects from the side, which saved on investment costs. Using the area gripping system from Schmalz, the process was fully automated and the output was increased significantly to 25 boxes per minute.