Introduction to Pally URcap

The Pally URCap can generate a complete palletizer program, which includes all move commands with the supported hardware types.

However it is also possible to add your own code in specific points of the program to implement custom motion and to control special hardware elements.

The palletizer workflow

The typical use case for a Pally palletizing robot is described as follows:

The operator starts the robot and the palletizer software,
The operator selects the product to be palletized,
The robot starts palletizing on an empty pallet,
When the pallet is full, the operator must replace it with an empty pallet,
The program can use two pallet positions to minimize pallet replacement downtime,
Palletizing continues until the operator stops the program.

In addition to the above described default use case, the following scenarios are also available in Pally:

Finish the current pallet immediately and begin a new empty pallet,
Build a partial pallet, i.e. palletize fewer boxes and/or layers than usual,
Continue an incomplete pallet, i.e. specify the starting layer/box position,
Palletize from 2 pickup positions,
Palletize 2 different products from 2 pickup positions on 2 pallets simultaneously.

Note: Every pallet is built of one specific product type. Thus, it is not possible to palletize different products on the same pallet.

Pallet patterns

Every product has its own pallet layout, depending on the box dimensions and the label position on the boxes. Some products have to be palletized using interlocking layers, which means that every second layer is mirrored or rotated in order to improve pallet stability. Other products have to be palletized so that the boxes are put exactly on the top of each other. The palletizer software can handle these requirements by defining the pallet patterns.

Note: A pallet pattern is the logical representation of a pallets layout, which can be dynamically loaded into the program. The number of supported patterns is only limited by the available disk space.

Pallet completion state

While pallet patterns define the expected layout of the pallet as a static model, the pallet completion state follows the actual status of the pallet currently being stacked. The pallet completion state keeps track of which exact box positions are already done, and which are waiting to be filled. The completion state is updated every time the robot has successfully moved a box from the pickup position and released it at the target position on the pallet.

Note: The robot will not be aware of any boxes that are moved to, on or from the pallet by the operator.