Case palletizers
Case palletizers stack boxes, trays, and shrink bundles. Conventional vs. robotic models with rated cases per minute, case quality, labels-out, and grippers.
A case palletizer stacks cases onto a pallet in a set pattern. Cases here means corrugated boxes, trays, and shrink-wrapped bundles. The machine can be a conventional layer former or a robot cell. This page compares the two with models and rated speeds from their makers. It also covers the case problems that stop palletizers.
All speeds below are the makers’ rated speeds. Your real output depends on your cases, pattern, pallet changes, and upstream flow.
Conventional or robotic
A conventional case palletizer builds a whole layer at once. Cases enter on a conveyor and turn into position. Rows form, and then a full layer pushes or drops onto the pallet. Read more on how layers are formed.
A robotic case palletizer uses a robot arm to place cases one at a time, or a few at once. The tool on the end of the arm is called the EOAT (end-of-arm tooling). It grips the case. Read more on gripper types.
A hybrid combines a conventional palletizer with one or more robot arms. Honeywell says its Alvey 950 series uses “one or more robotic arms” for “pattern forming.”
Rated speeds from the makers
| Model and source | Type | Rated speed (maker’s words) |
|---|---|---|
| Pearson RPC-C | Robot cell (FANUC robot) | “Up to 24 cases/min,” for cases up to 40 lb |
| Motion Controls Robotics Case2Cube | Robot cell (FANUC robot) | “up to 32 cases per minute,” for cases up to 35 lb |
| Alvey 750 | Hybrid | “speeds to 50 cases per minute” |
| Alvey 891i | Conventional | “up to 70 cases per minute” |
| Columbia FLD6200 | Conventional, floor level | “up to 100 cases per minute” |
| Columbia HL6200 | Conventional, high level | “up to 120 cases per minute (depending on pattern)” |
| Alvey 950 series | Hybrid, robot arms for “pattern forming” | in excess of “125 cases per minute” |
| Alvey 944 | Conventional | “excess of 225 cases per minute” |
The two single-pick robot cells in this table are rated at 24 to 32 cases per minute. Robots that pick a row or a layer at once can run faster. Optamate, for example, rates its CPS30P cobot at “Up to 10 cycles/min (20 boxes/min rates with dual pick).” Ask for the rate with your pick pattern. The conventional and hybrid machines are rated at 50 to over 225. FANUC says that, “Depending on the type of robot and the application, an industrial palletizing robot can handle up to 30 cases per minute.” These models were picked because their makers publish speeds. This is not a ranking.
Pearson says its RPC-C rate depends on “pattern type, case orientation & case weight.” Columbia says the HL6200 speed depends on pattern. Ask each supplier to quote the rate for your case and your pattern. The buying guide shows how to work out the rate you need.
Which one fits
| Factor | Robot cell | Conventional or hybrid |
|---|---|---|
| Rated speed | 24 to 32 cases per minute for the single-pick cells above. Row or layer picking can raise it. | 50 to over 225 cases per minute for the machines above |
| Products | One case at a time, so mixed sizes are easier | Whole layers, best with steady case sizes |
| Lines served | Can take cases from more than one line | Usually one line |
| Fragile packs | Place speed and drop height are set in software. Ask for a test with your most fragile pack. | Columbia lists “soft product handling” as an option |
Columbia says the HL6200 and FLD6200 handle “cases, display packs, totes, trays, bundles, shrink film without pad” and more. So conventional machines are not limited to sealed boxes. Ask the supplier to run your weakest pack.
Case quality
A palletizer is only as good as the cases it gets. Bad cases cause jams, crooked rows, and leaning pallets.
Board strength. Box compression strength is how much top load a box takes before it crushes. Pallet patterns change it. A 2023 study by Kim and others, held in the Virginia Tech library, found that “effective box compression strength decreases as the magnitude of overhang increases.” Overhang means the case sticks out past the pallet edge. Ask your box supplier to check your pattern. See pallet patterns.
Flaps and glue. Open flaps catch on guides and turners. Weak glue lets flaps pop open after sealing. Bulging cases from overfilling make rows longer than the pattern expects. Columbia lists “Fallen Case Detection” and “Smart Squeeze Technology for Misformed Layer Detection” on the HL6200. These help catch bad cases, but they do not fix them.
Vacuum grip. Schmalz, a vacuum gripper maker, notes that “Porous, abrasive cardboard boxes require suction cups with excellent sealing properties and particularly long service lives.” Recycled, uncoated board can leak more air. Test with your real cases, not samples from a new lot.
Run a case audit before the quote. Pull cases from your line on a humid day and on a dry day. Send them to the supplier for the test run.
Pallet quality. The pallet matters too. Give the supplier your pallet size, type, and condition range. Ask how the pallet dispenser handles a broken or warped pallet. Premier Tech, for example, lists a dispenser that “can handle pallets of various sizes and quality” on its APR-1150.
Case orientation and labels out
Many customers want labels or barcodes facing out on every side of the pallet. This is called labels-out stacking. The palletizer must turn some cases before they enter the pattern. Columbia lists “Labels-out stacking” as an option on both the HL6200 and FLD6200. A robot can rotate the case in its gripper instead. Extra turns can slow the line. Ask for the rate with labels-out turned on.
Also tell the supplier which way cases arrive. Long side leading or short side leading changes the turning the machine must do.
Grippers for cases
The gripper decides what a robot can pick. FANUC lists “vacuum gripper,” “fork-style tooling,” and “multi-zone vacuum gripper” options for palletizing. Granta Automation, a UK palletizer maker, describes these common types:
| Gripper | How it holds | Good for (per Granta) |
|---|---|---|
| Vacuum (foam or cups) | Suction on the top face | “boxes, display boxes, cartons.” Best for “flat top surfaces.” |
| Side plate (clamp) | Two plates squeeze the sides | “boxes or shrink-wrapped trays that are unsuitable for vacuum gripping” |
| Underneath (plate or fork) | Product slides onto a plate, then clamps | “open-top plastic or cardboard crates, open-top boxes, or shrink-wrapped products like packs of bottles” |
Motion Controls Robotics lists a vacuum zone plus “pallet picking jaws” on its Case2Cube tool. One tool then picks cases and places empty pallets. A multi-zone vacuum tool can pick one case or several at once. Ask which zones run for each pattern.
Palletizing more than one line
One robot can serve several packing lines if the total rate fits. IMS Group says its system can “handle up to four product lines simultaneously using a single robotic arm.” Columbia/Okura lists “1 or more” infeed and out-feed conveyors for its dynaPAL robot cell.
Add up the peak rate of every line first. Then compare it to the robot’s rated speed for your heaviest pattern. Each line also needs its own pallet station and a place for full pallets. Plan the palletizing conveyor with this in mind.
After the palletizer
Full pallets go next to a stretch wrapper. Some palletizers do both jobs. Columbia lists its FLD2500-SW and FLD1500-SW as models that “Simultaneously stack & wrap.” For costs, see what a palletizer cell costs. None of the makers above publish prices on the pages cited.
Safety
Every case palletizer needs guarding under OSHA 29 CFR 1910.212. Conventional and hybrid machines are usually built to ANSI/PMMI B155.1. Robot cells follow ISO 10218-2:2025 and ANSI/A3 R15.06-2025. Columbia lists interlocked doors, full height light curtains, and a Category 3, Performance Level D safety system on the HL6200. Never bypass guards, interlocks, light curtains, or area scanners. Before anyone enters the cell or clears a jam, use lockout/tagout. OSHA’s lockout rule, 29 CFR 1910.147, covers work where “unexpected energization or start up” could hurt someone. Lockout must cover air and gravity, not just power. Lower the hoist or elevator, or set its pins or blocks, before anyone goes under a raised layer or pallet. Set any load on a vacuum gripper down before you remove air or vacuum, or the case drops. Bleed the air lines. Tell affected workers before you lock out and again before restart. See safe jam clearing and entry for more.
Common questions
A machine that stacks sealed cases, trays, or shrink bundles onto a pallet in a set pattern. It can be a conventional layer-forming machine or a robot cell. Both are covered below, with rated speeds from the makers.
It depends on the machine and the pattern. Pearson rates its RPC-C robot cell at up to 24 cases per minute. Columbia rates its HL6200 conventional palletizer at up to 120 cases per minute, depending on pattern. Honeywell Intelligrated says its Alvey 944 runs in excess of 225 cases per minute. These are rated speeds, not real output.
The two single-pick robot cells in this guide are rated from 24 to 32 cases per minute. Robots that pick a row or a layer at once can run faster. The conventional and hybrid machines are rated from 50 to over 225. A robot cell suits many SKUs or several lines. A conventional machine suits one fast line. See robot cell specs and conventional machine speeds.
Weak, bulging, or open cases jam conveyors and make layers uneven. Porous board can leak air under a vacuum gripper. Pallet overhang also lowers the stacking strength of the box. Test your worst real cases before you buy.
None of the makers cited on this page publish a price. Prices depend on rate, pattern count, conveyors, guarding, and installation. See every public price we found.