Premier Pallet Changer provides pharmaceutical remedy
July 22nd 2008 Pharmaceutical products are often palletised on plastic or other top quality skids during production and then switched to cheaper, more expendable pallets for distribution. Using a pallet transfer device goods can be put onto the most suitable type of unit for distribution immediately prior to shipping. Even though a producer may not know the destination of the goods at time of production, pallet transfer devices provide the flexibility to ensure the most suitable pallet for distribution is always used.
Currently at the forefront of pallet transfer technology are systems that recline the load temporarily and return just the pallet to its original position for exchange. The Premier Pallet Changer does just this. It begins by gripping the pallet and enclosing the load from top and sides, then reclining everything through 105˚. The pallet can now be detached from the product and returned to ground level for removal.
The most important benefit of this operation is that it eliminates any manual handling of the pallet. Increasingly, companies are implementing systems which eliminate any manual lifting of loads over 25kg, especially with something as awkward to handle as a pallet. The Pallet Changer can be used in conjunction with a pallet stacker and dispenser, one to accumulate the old pallet and the other to dispense the new one.
If this style of inverter is to become a serious competitor to traditional machines, a major challenge is to make it universally workable with all types of load and sizes of pallet. One option is to tip the product back into a ‘V’. This works well with some goods, but forces everything to one corner of the pallet. Also, bagged goods tend to collapse when resting on their edge in this way.
Michael Glass of leading pharmaceutical company Sanofi Aventis approached Premier Pallet Systems to solve the problem of transferring product from incoming pallets onto hygienic aluminium pallets before entering the production area.
Michael said “When I spoke to Premier I had not heard of their Pallet Changer, but after discussion with them and exploring all the different options they suggested, it appeared to be the ideal solution to our problem, meaning there did not need to be any manual handling of the pallet. We are extremely pleased with the machine – it does exactly what we need it to do and is a very reliable piece of kit."
Cost is obviously a big factor in the decision making process when buying a pallet inverter. The newer styles of Pallet Changer rely heavily on multiple hydraulic functions and sophisticated control systems. With up to five moving functions on a machine, the use of PLC control is inevitable. Premier has now successfully rationalised this process and produced a simpler, universal model with options to upgrade with additional features.
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