Industry & Business

“There are some important changes going on in the field of end-of-line palletising.” Jan de Bruijn, Managing Director at CSi’s Headquarters in Raamsdonksveer, knows that nowadays there’s a strong demand for cheaper palletising solutions, which are compact and flexible. “The market has matured,“ says de Bruijn. It is clear what he means by this – no longer are only complex systems supplied to the market, but over recent years these have mostly been delivered to the large multinational companies.

Meanwhile CSi also focuses on the smaller and mid-size companies. In this market completely different requirements have to be met: high engineering costs cannot be passed on, so smart solutions at affordable prices are at the forefront.

The i-Pal Concept

Therefore CSi developed the i-Pal concept with a total carefree package around it, comprising of nothing more but a complete and compact palletising cell for use at the end of a production or packaging line, though extended with important service components.

the i-Pal.

The i-Pal unit consists of a spherical robot, a pick point and a pallet conveyor all mounted on a skid. “Only high quality components are being used,” de Bruijn emphasises. No compromises are made when it comes to quality.

System availability is a core feature in CSi’s designs. The i-Pal is based on standardised robot technology and high quality components with proven performance. This makes the palletiser extremely reliable in a production environment, requiring low maintenance thus resulting in low maintenance costs. With the remote diagnostic options CSi can instantly analyse any error by telephone. The end-of-line palletising concept enables the gradual automation of several production or packaging lines. Each line can be automated separately and at the right moment.

Robot palletising also enables the fulfilment of specific requirements, eg always show a predetermined side of the product on the outside of the pallet, or the label orientation may be specified.

The mechatronic design with multifunctional components and the professional software enables a lot of other functions and options. Maximum functionality can thus be achieved at low cost. The universal gripper and the software enable a lot of different stacking patterns so product changes can be executed fast and easily.

I-Pal‘s small footprint makes it easy to fit the palletiser into every possible environment. The i-Pal can be used with forklift trucks as well as with AGVs or a pallet transfer car.

Financial Options

In order to meet the needs of fast growing and smaller companies, CSi even offers its customers several financing options. “Of course our customers can buy the i-Pal, but it can also be rented for a shorter or longer period of time,“ the Managing Director points out. “Or the customer only uses the palletiser as long as he needs it.” This is an Important advantage as CSi customers can profit from the technology without having to invest.

Jan de Bruijn, Managing Director at CSi.

The skid construction enables a quick and easy installation. Operation starts at the day of installation. As CSi’s financing costs are below the costs for manual palletising the customer saves money from Day One.

“One of CSi’s customers was looking for a way to lower the production costs internationally, in more production plants. The i-Pal robot cell was chosen because of its reliability and the lease options. The monthly fees offer the customer a clear savings potential compared to the previous costs for personnel,” he explains.

I-Pal can handle up to 20 products per minute. “Try to achieve this with manual palletising in a 24 hour production company, seven days a week,” highlights de Bruijn. Being a standard product i-Pal can easily be demounted and re-installed at another place within the same company or even at another CSi customer. When the production planning changes, only small costs will arise from changing the materials handling system.

Due to the standardisation CSi can also offer several options for hiring and leasing, only for the period of time the customer requires the machine, “The lease contract offers a lot of flexibility to our customers“, says de Bruijn. “After the leasing period the customer can either return the palletiser, hire it for a longer period or purchase it.”