Vacuum Lift Assist for Carton Palletizing Case Study

Cartons weighing up to 180 pounds had to be transferred from a conveyor to a nearby pallet several times per minute. Ergonomic Partners developed an adjustable vacuum lifting tool integrated with a Gorbel G-Force so one operator could handle the variable-size cartons through the palletizing cycle.

Vacuum Lift Assist for Heavy Carton Palletizing

See the custom vacuum lifting tool handle large cartons as they are transferred from the conveyor and positioned onto the pallet.

Application: Transfer heavy, variable-size cartons from the end of a conveyor to a pallet while maintaining a practical working position for the operator.

Problem: Operators were manually palletizing boxes weighing up to 180 pounds. The cartons ranged from approximately 2 to 4 feet long and were moved about 1 foot from the conveyor to the pallet at a rate of roughly 2–3 lifts per minute. A pit-mounted lift table helped maintain the pallet height, but the size and weight of the cartons still made them difficult for one operator to handle. Existing vacuum tube lifters at the plant had also proven difficult to control for this application.

Requirement: Handle the range of carton sizes with one lifting device, provide enough reach to place cartons across the pallet, and give operators controlled lifting and positioning throughout the transfer.

Solution: Ergonomic Partners developed a custom vacuum lifting tool powered by venturi vacuum and integrated it with a 300-pound Gorbel G-Force. Because the carton dimensions varied significantly, the vacuum cups were made adjustable in both directions.

The operator handle also included 12 inches of in/out adjustment to provide additional reach when placing cartons farther across the pallet. A remote G-Force pendant handle was used instead of the standard slide handle to provide control with the extended tooling. The system also incorporated an interlocked gripping circuit intended to prevent release while a carton was suspended.

Result: The completed system allowed one operator to handle the different carton sizes during palletizing. The second operator, previously needed to assist with handling, could instead prepare the next cartons for the process.