Sidel is expanding its palletizing range with the introduction of the RoboAccess_Pal S. This new palletizing unit, which will be presented at Interpack (May 4–10 in Dusseldorf, Germany) reportedly combines the best of cobotic and robotic worlds, and delivers improved agility, operability and compactness to the food, home and personal care market segments.

With the introduction of cobotics in palletizing, Sidel reports it has been able to answer the growing market demand for very compact and affordable cells, which generally replace manual operations.

For more demanding lines, where robotic arms could offer higher technical performances, Sidel has drawn on its 50-plus years of palletizing expertise to create an all-in-one solution that combines a small footprint, fast return on investment, and higher case payload and speed.

According to the manufacturer, RoboAccess_Pal S delivers speeds of up to 12 cycles per minute and enables a case payload of up to 25kg while ensuring a fast return on investment, typically of one to two years. The palletizing solution offers a new level of compactness with a footprint of less than 12 square meters for two stations with a pallet height of 1700mm.

“We have designed RoboAccess_Pal S to deliver a solution that offers the best of both the robotic and cobotic worlds, addressing the needs of our customers across a wide range of applications and market categories," says Fabien Chiron, innovation manager for palletizing product lines. "With more than 1,300 robotic palletizing installations worldwide, Sidel has also led the implementation of collaborative robotics since 2011. We have built from this combined expertise to deliver an innovative mixed result as well as additional brand new features.”

Available only in 10 weeks, RoboAccess_Pal S is embedding three new patented features to provide a higher level of agility, operability, and compactness. A light-weighted carbon fiber and 3D-printed clamping head help deliver higher payload capacity and overall machine footprint reduction while handling a wide range of secondary packaging. Additionally, the patented folding guarding system ensures effortless movable plug-and-play capabilities. Sidel is committed to ensuring a high level of safety standards and a patented mobile physical curtain guarantees the operator’s protection during pallet supply and removal in addition to helping reduce the machine footprint further.