Short answer: a case packing robot picks products such as bottles, pouches, bags, cans or trays from the line and places them in a box or tray in a fixed pattern. Together with an automatic case erector, a case sealer and a palletizer it completes the end of the line. The right robot depends on product weight, output and how products arrive: a cobot, an industrial robot or, for light products at high speed, a delta robot.
How robotic case packing works
- Infeed. Products arrive on a conveyor, either lined up or randomly. With a random infeed, a vision system detects the position of each product.
- Picking. A vacuum or mechanical gripper picks one product or a full row or layer at once.
- Placing. The robot places the products in the box in the right pattern, with dividers or layer pads where needed.
- Box handling. Empty boxes come from a case erector; full boxes go to a case sealer, labelling and the palletizer.
Which robot fits your case packing?
- Cobot. Suitable for moderate output, frequent format changes and limited floor space. It can often work with scanners instead of full fencing.
- Industrial robot. For heavier products, multi-product picks or higher output.
- Delta or SCARA robot. For light products at very high speed.
We choose the robot that fits your products and output, not the other way around.
Top-load, side-load or wrap-around?
Most robot case packers are top-load: the robot places products into an open box from above. Side-load and wrap-around case packers are dedicated machines for very high volumes of one format. A robot is the better choice when you run many SKUs, box sizes or patterns on one line.
What we need for a quotation
- Products: dimensions, weight, packaging type and how they arrive on the line.
- Boxes: sizes, patterns and the number of formats.
- Output per minute and the number of shifts.
- Available floor space and the connection to existing machines.
How WiredWorkers works
From feasibility study and engineering through to build, commissioning and service, WiredWorkers delivers complete end-of-line cells for FMCG manufacturers in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. We have built compact case packers and display case packers for food and non-food producers.