Unloading by hand too unsafe, tiring and slow
The previous bottle depalletizer at Widmer Brothers Brewing was a semi-automated system that was no longer able to handle the increasingly shorter cycle times – which slowed depalletizing operations and led to productivity losses. Safety was also a big driver: Unloading the crates by hand was problematic for safety reasons since the motion sequences were repeated. This makes the work extremely tough and very strenuous on the human body. Beyond this, it had to be possible in the future to load the pallets to the full height and not, as was previously the case, just halfway.
Robot depalletizes cases with a vacuum gripper
Since a conventional depalletizer was eliminated as a possibility from the outset due to the low ceiling height, the integrator and official KUKA system partner Midwest Engineered Systems turned to a robot-based solution. The robot had to be able to move the upper layers of the incoming pallet load underneath an existing beam. With its six axes, the KR 270 R2700 ultra selected by Widmer Brewing can easily avoid the ceiling beam and thus unload the pallet stacked to full height.