Stretch Wrapping and Palletizing: The Perfect Pair for Throughput

One system, two functions to reclaim floor space and optimize your end-of-line automation system

The grocery store is exhausting! You have to get your cart, maneuver around other cart pushers through multiple aisles, consult your shopping list while said maneuvering happens, and hope that you leave with everything you need. But before your arduous journey to the store, your purchased goods experience their own journey to land on the shelf.

Much of this journey happens in a food, beverage or consumer goods manufacturing facility, where your bottled water, boxes of fruit snacks, or frozen pizzas are packaged, palletized, and stretch wrapped.

While there are many additional steps in this production journey, let’s focus on what happens at the end.

What is end-of-line automation?

In any CPG space, you’ll hear mention of “the end of the line,” which refers to jobs that take place at the end of the production line. The product itself has been made, so now it needs the final touches, like prep for being shipped out to its next destination.

This is what TopTier (a Robopac company) specializes in. As a global leader in integrated palletizing and wrapping technology, they’ve combined two traditional machine tasks into one to optimize end-of-line automation.

Introducing the TTX

Traditionally, boxes of consumer goods would be palletized at the end of the line. Then the full pallet would be transported to a separate machine center to be wrapped, requiring additional time and space.

But with TopTier traditional palletizers like the TTX Series, low or high-infeed conventional palletizers with integrated concurrent stretch wrapping, the stretch wrapping happens right at the end of the line after the products have been palletized.

As you can imagine, this greatly reduces overall footprint in a production space. The TTX Series actually boasts the smallest footprint in the industry, and has a lot of layout flexibility with its modular design.

Designed with the end user in mind

This new generation of TTX Series palletizers boasts a new user interface, benefitting many aspects of the end user experience.

Most importantly, the labor shortage continues to be an issue in the manufacturing industry. The TTX Series addresses this with a new user interface featuring large, graphical HMI screens and Easy Stack Pro pallet pattern creation software. Every day feels like a fresh start for operators, thanks to intuitive controls that simplify training and reduce errors.

Reducing downtime and increasing throughput

Speed and reliability are critical. The TTX delivers both increased speed and load containment with the help of DBS60 encoders from SICK.

Increased speed: encoder feedback on many motor locations allows high-speed motion control while maintaining accurate positioning.
Load containment: encoder feedback and photo eyes ensure accurate product count and positioning throughout the palletizing process.

Safety and Productivity

TopTier is an industry leader in safety for end-of-line palletizing automation. All palletizers are built to Category 3, Performance Level D, with redundancy throughout the system. Controlled access protocols (which include using the deTec4 light curtain) require operators to request entry, triggering a planned stop and confirmation from the SICK safety PLC before interlocked doors can open.

SICK’s safety portfolio and SISTEMA library help evaluate machine control systems according to EN ISO 13849-1, ensuring compliance and peace of mind.

Solving space challenges

Brownfield facilities often struggle with limited space. The TTX’s modular design and integrated stretch wrapping make it ideal for tight layouts, offering flexibility without sacrificing performance.

Already have an end-of-line automation system? No problem. TopTier palletizers are drop-in palletizing solutions that can be configured to fit almost any space. And unlike traditional setups that require separate wrapping machines, TopTier’s integrated design wraps each load as it’s built. This is a huge space saver and minimizes upfront investment in end-of-line automation.