Palletizer
The robot-assisted ZPAL palletizer enables fully automated palletizing and depalletizing of small to medium-sized parts made of a wide variety of materials. Thanks to its modular design, the system can be flexibly adapted to different requirements and production environments — for maximum efficiency and process reliability.
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The advantages of the ZPAL palletizer
01
Modular system
The ZPAL system is extremely versatile. Thanks to its modular structure and simple reconfiguration, product changes and short-term bottleneck operations can be implemented quickly and easily – ideal for dynamic manufacturing environments.
02
SCARA robot
This particularly lightweight and versatile small robot is ideally designed for precise movements. Thanks to overhead mounting, it operates without dead zones and enables continuous processing with minimal space requirements and a large range – perfect for confined or complex work areas.
03
Quick-change grapple system
The SCARA robot is equipped with a quick-change system and can be fitted with various grippers – for part-specific, adaptable handling. This allows different components to be processed quickly and efficiently without long changeover times.
04
Safety engineering
CE-compliant safety technologies ensure increased operational safety. This guarantees smooth interaction between humans and machines - for safe and productive workflows.
05
Software-optimized typesetting patterns
Regardless of the part geometry, the components are arranged on the carrier surface in a space-saving and optimized manner. The robot controller automatically receives the corresponding gripper coordinates – for efficient processes without manual programming.
06
Separate carrier axes
The separately controllable carrier axes and the option of integrating a second rack trolley into the system enable a particularly high throughput rate to be achieved. This significantly increases productivity due to increased autonomy time.
System overview
The palletizing unit consists of a lifting station, transfer station, and handling station with a Scara robot. The lifting station moves the rack trolley vertically and prepares the trays, which are then transported precisely by the robot via the carrier axes. Quality checks such as weight checks or camera-based evaluations can be integrated as an option. Missing parts are automatically sorted out and reported to higher-level production control systems. In addition, the system control enables the connection and control of upstream manufacturing processes – for a continuously networked and efficient production chain.
Core components
The ZPAL palletizer impresses with its modular design, which allows flexible adaptation to different requirements and production environments. This means that the system can be scaled and individually configured as needed—for maximum efficiency and future-proofing.
Handling station
The heart of the system is the central unit, which integrates the SCARA robot, the control technology, and the user-friendly control panel. It controls all movement and process sequences precisely and reliably.
SCARA robot
The robot handles palletizing with high precision and excellent repeatability—for reliable processes, consistent quality, and efficient cycle times in automated production processes.
Separate carrier axes
Independent control of the axes enables maximum flexibility during operation and ensures high throughput. This allows parallel processes to be coordinated efficiently and system performance to be optimized.
Transfer station
The workpieces are fed into the process via transport systems such as conveyor belts and then picked up precisely by the robot—ensuring a smooth and continuous flow of materials in automated operation.
Control panel
A user-friendly panel enables easy control and seamless monitoring of the entire system—for maximum transparency, ease of use, and process reliability.
Lifting station
The lifting station raises and lowers the tray cart precisely to enable efficient loading and unloading of parts at the respective levels – quickly, reliably, and with process reliability.
Tray cart
The tray cart is used to hold the carriers and enables them to be changed quickly and safely – ideal for short cycle times and a continuous flow of material.
Optional, 2nd lifting station
The use of a second lifting station increases system flexibility and ensures continuous, uninterrupted operation—ideal for high utilization rates and parallel processes.
Technology at a glance
From intelligent parts feeding to intuitive control software, the ZPAL combines state-of-the-art technologies in a powerful overall system. The following modules and functions ensure maximum precision, efficiency, and flexibility in operation—optimally tailored to the requirements of modern manufacturing environments.
Teilezufuhr
The parts are fed into the palletizer via standard transport systems such as conveyor belts – either at one or more positions. The robot picks up the parts individually or in batches and places them in a defined pattern on the carrier plates provided.
Optionally, pre-treatment process steps can be integrated into the feed, e.g., deburring of the parts, sorting stations such as sorting switches, or part-specific modules for separation and pre-positioning. This ensures a smooth, reliable, and fully automated process—even with complex geometries or varying part ranges.
Optionally, pre-treatment process steps can be integrated into the feed, e.g., deburring of the parts, sorting stations such as sorting switches, or part-specific modules for separation and pre-positioning. This ensures a smooth, reliable, and fully automated process—even with complex geometries or varying part ranges.
Option: Identification of missing parts
Systems for measuring parts, weighing devices, or optical recognition solutions can be integrated into the material receiving area as an option in order to identify defective parts at an early stage. These are ejected separately so that only flawless components enter the palletizing process.
Targeted ejection ensures QA-compliant transfer to downstream processing stations. On request, real-time notification of detected deviations can also be sent to the upstream production process – for maximum transparency and process reliability.
Targeted ejection ensures QA-compliant transfer to downstream processing stations. On request, real-time notification of detected deviations can also be sent to the upstream production process – for maximum transparency and process reliability.
Robot and gripper systems
The SCARA robot used impresses with its compact design, low weight, and high dynamics. It enables fast, precise movements without dead zones and ensures maximum positioning accuracy—with minimal space requirements and optimal utilization of the working space.
Gripper options:
The SCARA robot has a quick-change system and can be equipped with different gripper systems.
- Form-fitting grippers for solid components
- Magnetic gripper for metal parts
- Vacuum grippers for sensitive materials
Tray cart & lifting station
The tray cart is used to hold filled parts carriers and to store empty trays for the palletizer. It is precisely tailored to the parts carriers used – including the compartment heights resulting from the component and tray heights. Depending on the application, designs are available for a single stack of large parts carriers or for two parallel stacks of smaller trays.
An integrated lifting station continuously raises and lowers the tray cart, ensuring uninterrupted, efficient operation.
An integrated lifting station continuously raises and lowers the tray cart, ensuring uninterrupted, efficient operation.
2nd lifting station
The optional integration of a second lifting station enables uninterrupted operation and significantly increases the efficiency of the overall system. Downtimes are reduced, parallel processes are optimized, and material flow is sustainably improved.
Software and control
The user-friendly ZPAL software allows optimized placement patterns to be easily created using drag-and-drop – directly from drawings or photos. Components are arranged on the carrier surfaces in a space-saving manner, while the robot automatically receives the appropriate gripper coordinates for precise placement.
The ZPAL combines state-of-the-art components to form a powerful palletizing and depalletizing system. Automated parts feeding and integrated real-time quality controls ensure consistent production processes and guarantee consistently high manufacturing quality.
The ZPAL combines state-of-the-art components to form a powerful palletizing and depalletizing system. Automated parts feeding and integrated real-time quality controls ensure consistent production processes and guarantee consistently high manufacturing quality.
User-friendly with integrated quality feedback
Thanks to its user-friendly interface, even inexperienced users can operate the system safely after just a brief introduction. The ZPAL software provides real-time monitoring of all system processes and automatically reports any deviations back to the upstream production step. This ensures consistent quality control—for maximum process reliability and optimal results.
Applications
The modular ZPAL palletizer can be flexibly adapted to a wide variety of palletizing tasks. Thanks to a wide range of gripper types, parts of various shapes, sizes, and weights can be handled reliably and with high process reliability—from robust metal components to sensitive components with high requirements for precision and care.
Ceramic molded parts
Sintered molded parts
Injection molded parts
Carbon components
Soft magnetic components
Plastic components
Electronic components
Glass parts
Food
Green parts
Laying goods
ZPAL in action
Experience the ZPAL in real-world use: Our videos show key functions such as parts feeding, gripper change, palletizing, and software operation during ongoing operation. This gives you a clear impression of the performance, flexibility, and user-friendliness of our system—directly from practical experience.
Parts supply
Material feed via a conveyor belt into the parts transfer of the ZPAL palletizer
Part weighing and sorting out missing parts
Robot & Grippers
Palletizing process from the perspective of the SCARA robot
Tray cart
Tray cart and lifting station of the ZPAL palletizer
Data sheets & PDFs
Data sheets and further specifications are available for download below.
Contact persons
Do you have questions about our ZPAL palletizer? Then don't hesitate to contact us. We look forward to helping you.
Technical consulting and sales
Thomas Jeworrek
Automation technology
Technical consulting and sales
Meike Balla
Automation technology
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