Food Marketing & Technology - India July 2019 | Page 44

Packaging
ROBOT-ASSISTED PALLET LABELLING
• The HERMA robot-assisted Print & Apply System facilitates the flexible labelling of pallets.
• A collaborative industrial robot automatically labels filled pallets on a packaging line at variable positions.
T
he reliable labelling of pallets
is not only indispensable for
smooth operations in many
industries, such as transport, logistics
and shipping companies, but is
sometimes even a legal requirement.
It is important for other processes
that the labels are firmly affixed in
the correct position so that they are
easy to read and cause no mistakes
or delays in dispatch. In order to
avoid
time-consuming
manual
individual labelling and to optimize
processes, HERMA have now also
enhanced their robot-assisted Print
& Apply System for this application.
“There are usually specific labelling
requirements for load carriers in
warehouse logistics. For example,
pallets for intralogistics must be
clearly and permanently labelled so
that downstream processes, such as
shipping and load securing can be
carried out efficiently. Our enhanced
Print & Apply System ensures the
fast, accurate and highly flexible
application of labels on two sides of
the pallets”, states Philipp Ott, Area
Sales Manager Labelling Machines at
HERMA GmbH.
The robot-assisted solution impresses
not only existing customers and
potential new customers, but also
long-standing cooperation partners,
such as OMS International Packaging
Solution, a global specialist in
packaging technology. “We have
been working very successfully with
HERMA for many years and using
synergy effects. At the LogiMAT fair
in Stuttgart, we demonstrated for the
first time this year how the new Print
& Apply System can be integrated into
our existing packaging line with our
innovative SONIC PLUS ultrasonic
In addition to the
collaborative industrial robot,
the new HERMA solution is
made up of very reliable
and well-proven standard
components from the HERMA
modular system
strapping
technology”,
confirms
Martin C. Müller, Vice President
Business Development at the OMS
Group. “Many visitors looked on with
great interest.”
Double-sided labelling of
stationary pallets
The UR 3 6-axis collaborative
industrial robot from Universal Robots
(UR) takes over the automatic double-
sided labelling of stationary pallets on
a packaging line. An SEW Eurodrive
driverless transport system transports
the filled pallets to the respective station
on the packaging line. Horizontal and
Food Marketing & Technology
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July 2019
vertical strapping is then applied to
the pallets that are optionally shrink-
wrapped beforehand. The tape
ends are then welded with a special
ultrasonic sealing technology. The
labelling process can now be started.
Well-proven standard
components
In addition to the collaborative
industrial robot, the new HERMA
solution is made up of very reliable
and well-proven standard components
from the HERMA modular system.
These include winders and unwinders
as well as a high-quality thermal
transfer printer, such as the ZEBRA
ZE500-6. A print resolution of up to 300
dpi ensures maximum legibility of the
print image. “We are definitely just at
the beginning of a development where
the relatively easy to use collaborative
robot can significantly increase the
efficiency of a packaging or labelling
line”, summarizes Martin Kühl, Head
of the HERMA Labelling Machines
Division.