The palletising system comprises an input area for the cartons of beer bottles, a Kawasaki FD-50N Palletising Robot and a pallet positioning area.
Pallets are manually positioned into the guarded area of the robot cell and it positions the cartons in a pre-programmed pattern.
A cardboard separator is positioned by the robot onto the top of each layer when complete, with full pallets being removed manually.
Mark Hammond, production manager of Edwin Holden’s, said the level of automation is unusual for a small business.
“Robots are normally associated with large corporations, typically car production, but the investment for us makes sense with a fairly short return on investment (ROI). We need to remain competitive, maintain flexibility and protect staff from risks of repetitive lifting of heavy weights.”
He added that the firm fill five bottle types and pack into eight different size cartons varying in weight from 6kg to 13kg.