Development of pallet pattern placement strategies in robotic palletisation

Abstract

Purpose – This paper presents an investigation on the development of different pattern placement strategies in robotic palletisation of box packages in the packaging industry with practical implementations for one, two, four and five block patterns with the aim of improving the operational efficiency in robotic palletisation. Design/methodology/approach – The work involves considering the gripper design and maximum number of picks and various process parameters that affect the robotic implementation of pallet patterns and develops a methodology to form different patterns for a given pallet size. Findings – The proposed methodology represents an efficient approach for pallet pattern implementation and results in reduced number of placements required for a given number of boxes per layer and reduced time for palletisation. Originality/value – The paper introduces a novel technique for pallet loading problem (PLP) considering the physical aspects and restrictions encountered when using the robot and the gripper size to generate the pattern on the pallet. Traditional solutions of PLP do not consider these aspects in pattern placements.