Of the various equipment characteristics important to machine selection, perhaps none is as significant as the maximum Container Throughput rate, ( container units per minute UPM ) The maximum rate achievable is dependent upon Container Unit Type, container size and pallet pattern.

In the particular case of the Bulk Container Unit Type, the Container Throughput numeric value represents a pallet layer throughput amount; not a number of containers amount.

In-feed conveyor elevation, In-feed Level, High or Low sets requirements for the palletizer to handle product containers, container rows and row layers in the vertical axis.

Container Types

A box full of individual use containers is most commonly referred to as a case. A case can also mean a tray or bundle of bottles, particularly in the beverage industry. The Container Unit Type values found in the database have the following definitions.

Bag, Sack

Bag materials, burlap/jute, paper, plastic or poly woven; require handling techniques different from most containers. Soft handling devices are needed to avoid puncture or tear defects. 90 degree rotation for pallet pattern placement requires different techniques than case rotation methods.

Bale

A bale is a large package of material tightly bound with twine or wire and often wrapped. Handling properties are very much like the case.

 

Bulk

Large numbers of individual use containers feed into the palletizer are accumulated until there is sufficient quantity to comprise an entire pallet unit load layer. The bulk group is layered onto the pallet with a between-tier sheet until the unit load is complete. The completed unit load is stabilized with the appropriate accessory material (stretch wrap, top cover, etc.) and the pallet is discharged. Typical bulk individual use containers are:

• Bottle
• Can
• Jar
• Plastic (PET HDPE) bottle, cup, tub, bowl, etc.

 

Case, Carton, Box

The ubiquitous six sided corrugated cardboard box is the most common container placed within a row of a layer on pallet unit load. When matched to the pallet dimensions, the case height, width and depth dimensioned shape provides the structural strength of the pallet unit load.

 

Case, Tray, Bundle

Particularly in the beverage industry, shrink wrapped trays or bundles of bottles in-feed to the palletizer are called a case. This is also true of other individual use containers like cans and jars in the food industry. The same sorts of palletizer handling devices are used for either kind of case.

Pail, Bucket, Can, Keg, Cask, Barrel, Drum

Commonly used in the building materials industry, pail/bucket/can containers with lids are designed to be stacked together providing pallet unit load structural strength; one, five and up to ten gallon volume sizes are typical.

Kegs/casks/barrels have larger volumes than pails and usually lower capacity than drums. The most generic nomenclature for a cylindrical container, barrel, is made in a wide variety of volumes up to and exceeding the common 55 gallon drum.