| Scope | Air conveyor, roller conveyor, depalletizer, palletizer |
| Function | Move bottles and cases without damage, stack outbound pallets |
| Key control | Accumulation pressure, guide rail gap, pattern repeatability |
| Types | Semi-automatic and automatic palletizing |
| Key decision | Manual, semi-automatic or robotic palletizing |
| Automation | Manual, semi-automatic or robotic |
The conveyor is the only part of the line that touches every bottle. Guide rail gaps, transfer plate height and accumulation pressure decide whether bottles jam, scuff or fall. Most unexplained short stops on a mature line trace back to a transfer that was set for one bottle format and never re-set.
Empty bottle layers are light and unstable, so the depalletizer is where a badly stacked pallet becomes a line stop. Layer pickup, sweep speed and the interface with the air conveyor are the three settings to check, and the pallet quality from the bottle supplier matters as much as the machine.
| Function | Manual | Automatic |
|---|---|---|
| Depalletizing empty bottles | Rack or hand stack | Layer depalletizer |
| Case palletizing | Operator with pattern sheet | Layer or robotic palletizer |
| Pallet wrapping | Hand wrapper | In-line stretch wrapper |
| Accumulation | None, line stops together | Buffer sized to longest stop |
The specification sheet for the Conveying carries the figures quoted here.
Enough to cover the longest normal downstream stop without stopping the filler. Beyond that, accumulation only hides the problem and adds floor space. The number comes from the stop-time log, not from a rule of thumb.
The unit behind this configuration is the Depalletizing & Palletizing.
Square pallets, consistent layer sheets and a stable stack. Empty bottles are light, so a leaning pallet becomes a fallen layer at the depalletizer. The machine can only work with the stack it is given.
The same question is worked through from another angle in How Conveyor Maintenance Impacts Line Longevity.
It is rated in cases or layers per hour and must exceed the packer output with margin. The number to compare is the pattern-adjusted rate, not the headline figure at one layer size.
Guide rail gap and transfer plate height. Both are set for one bottle diameter and both drift when a second format is introduced. Re-set them at every changeover, not once at installation.
It is rated in cycles per hour and depends on the layer pattern and the stack height. Compare the pattern-adjusted rate, not the headline figure.
Low air pressure, a worn layer clamp, or a pallet that is not square. Empty bottle layers are light, so small errors become fallen bottles at the infeed.
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