After MBO and its WrapXi automated packaging system , Horizon is tackling another end-of-line operation in printing and binding facilities: the palletizing of printed materials. Developed in collaboration with the German robotics company Unchained Robotics, this mobile machine stacks printed products at the end of the production line?a task that is still often performed manually.
A mobile robot compatible with multiple production lines
The unit is based on the MalocherBot PAL S from Unchained Robotics, equipped with a UR20 collaborative robot. It retrieves printed materials as they exit folding machines, saddle-stitchers, perfect-binding lines, or packaging lines?whether Horizon-branded or not?and then places them onto pallets.
One of the key developments achieved by the two partners involves the robot's gripper, which is designed to handle a wide variety of printed products, taking into account their different sizes and fragility.
The system is mounted on casters and includes a separate feed conveyor. This configuration makes it easy to move the robot between multiple production stations.
Production Changes Without Scheduling
In practice, before a job begins, the operator defines the palletizing pattern and gripping parameters using the Luna software, without having to program the robot. The mechanical adjustments to the gripper and the lifting comb are made manually using quick-release clamping systems.
Changing the pallet also does not require the line to be shut down. The robot then switches to collaborative mode and continues palletizing at a reduced speed.
"It was particularly important to us not to develop a standalone solution, but one that could be flexibly integrated into existing production lines," explains Ambjörn Breuer, Horizon's sales and marketing director.
"We are introducing robotics into the printing industry not because it's the latest trend, but because it is one of the last non-automated stages of the process, waiting for a partner who will take this challenge seriously, says Mladen Milicevic, co-founder and CEO of Unchained Robotics. "Horizon has been familiar with the industry for decades, while we bring our software expertise and our independence from hardware. It is precisely this combination that will determine whether automation will truly take hold in small and medium-sized businesses or whether it will remain nothing more than a technical demonstration."
This palletizing solution is now available on the market following tests at a bookbinding company and a sheet-fed offset printing plant.
