Offline

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Pallet Setting

Gap Width

The gap width (mm) between the boxes. Recommended value: 10–20mm.

By setting the minimum gap width, the collision problems resulted by various reasons can be avoided when the boxes are closely palletized. The common reasons include inaccurate sizes or poses of the recognized boxes.

Prior Corner

This parameter specifies the corner of the pallet on which the materials are palletized first, and the position of this prior corner will be changed with the pallet pose.

Parameter Description Illustration

OO

When the pallet is in the initial position, the pallet corner located in the third quadrant observed from a top-down view.

angle oo

OY

Based on the reference corner OO, the pallet corner that is in the positive Y direction of the robot reference frame.

angle oy

XY

Based on the reference corner OO, the pallet corner that is in the positive Y and X directions of the robot reference frame.

angle xy

XO

Based on the reference corner OO, the pallet corner that is in the positive X direction of the robot reference frame.

angle xo

Offline Method

Best Fit

This method is applicable to scenarios where the box dimensions vary greatly or the Step is in the Online mode. The pallet pattern eventually planned is not as neat as those planned by using the other three methods.

ByStack

Divide the boxes into different stacks by a specified rule (usually models or dimensions). The boxes that belong to the same stack can be sorted according to a specified rule. The nature of this method is 2-dimensional stacking.

ByLayer

The concept of layer will be introduced. Boxes of the same dimensions will be placed on the same layer. If the layer cannot consist only of boxes of the same dimensions, the layer will be divided into four sections, and each type of box will be placed on an individual section.

In Batches

The palletizing of one SKU can only begin after the palletizing of another SKU is completed. In AGV loading scenarios, this method can effectively reduce the number of times the AGV moves.

  • SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) can be commonly understood as the management of goods at the smallest granularity. For example, a bottle of water, a mobile phone, a piece of clothing, a pen, will each have a corresponding SKU code for identification.

  • AGV (Automated Guided Vehicle) refers to a transport vehicle equipped with automatic guidance devices such as electromagnetic or optical systems, capable of traveling along predetermined paths, and possessing safety protection as well as various material handling functions.

Offline Current Pallet Index

Description: Specify the index of the currently viewed pallet.

Min Box Length

When the input side length is less than the set value, the software will display a pop-up message.

When the box size is small, the planning time for offline mixed-case palletizing may be longer. Setting this value can prevent extended calculation times due to input errors in orders.

Stability Checking

In a pallet pattern, the support ratio refers to the percentage of the total contact area between the bottom surface of a box and the above surfaces of the lower-layer boxes relative to its own bottom area. If there is a pallet pattern in which the support ratio of a box is less than the set “minimum support ratio,” it is considered unstable and will be discarded It’s important to note that the “minimum support ratio” is only used for filtering pallet pattern results.

Pallet Pattern Saving & Reading

Save Offline Result

Save the current pallet pattern to the file. After the “Offline Result Saving Path” is set, the pallet pattern file will be automatically generated in this folder path.

Read Offline Result

If this parameter is selected, the software will directly read the saved pallet pattern results from the file and ignore the current input settings such as orders, algorithms, and parameters.

ByStackSetting

Tag on Boundary

The tag is stuck on the short side of the box. The short side faces outward for subsequent scanning.

Split Stack Evenly

This parameter affects the pallet pattern.

For the last pallet, if there is unfilled space in the horizontal plane projection, it is recommended to split taller stacks into multiple shorter stacks to fully fill the horizontal plane of the pallet. This strategy helps to lower the center of gravity of the pallet pattern and improve stability during handling.

Place by Layer

This parameter affects the sequence of palletization.

When calculating the sequence of palletization, start by placing the boxes of the shorter layer before the taller ones. This helps avoid situations where one stack of boxes is placed while others are still pending, preventing collisions between held and already placed boxes.

ByLayer Setting

Centerize Boxes

After selecting this parameter, the software will preferentially gather the placed boxes towards the center when palletizing the boxes.

Not selecting this parameter will prompt the software to attempt filling the entire pallet, ensuring even distribution of boxes and maximizing space utilization.

Adjust Block Size

This parameter is used to adjust the block size to reduce the gap width and increase the space utilization.

If the quantity of a particular type of box in the order is small, not selecting this parameter can provide sufficient support to the upper layers, avoiding large gaps in the upper layers.

Hanging Percent

In the process of calculating pallet pattern, the hanging percent refers to the ratio of the dimensions which the upper box is allowed to extend beyond the current layer to the short side of the box, when a new stacking layer is placed on the current layer.

If box A is placed in the upper layer, the hanging percent then refers to the ratio of the dimensions which the upper box is allowed to extend beyond the corresponding area in the lower layer to the short side of the box A. If the percentage is too large, the box may not get sufficient support from the lower layer.

Min Block Area Usage Percent

When using the optimal pallet pattern, there is often a situation where a region is not completely filled, which may be caused by two reasons. Firstly, even with the optimal pallet pattern, it is challenging to completely fill the area. For instance, if the area is 10.8 times the area of a box. Secondly, the boxes may be not enough. In such a scenario, by adjusting this parameter, you can ensure that the area usage percent of all blocks in the pallet pattern is at least the set value. The area usage rate for each block is usually not expected to be very low, so it is recommended to keep the default value as 0%.

InBatchesSetting

Check Label Outwards

This parameter is only used for checking, and does not include the calculation of the pallet pattern. The obtained multiple pallet pattern solutions will be inspected, and only those pallet patterns where all box labels face outward will be remained. After inspection, it is possible that not all boxes in the obtained pallet patterns have labels facing outward. In this case, the software will output an empty pallet pattern, indicating that a suitable solution was not found.

Search Depth

The higher the search depth, the more pallet pattern results can be achieved, and theoretically the better pallet patterns may be obtained. However, the increased search depth means a longer running time of the algorithm.

It is recommended to test different search depths according to the actual situation, especially the performance of the industrial personal computer.

Fixed SKU Sequence

If this parameter is selected, fixed sequence will be applied.

If this parameter is not selected, all SKUs will be sorted from low to high.

Ascending Top

Selecting this parameter ensures that the top surface height of later-placed boxes is higher than or equal to that of previously placed boxes.

Max Time Per Branch

Set a time limit for branch calculations; if the branch calculation exceeds this limit, the results obtained up to that point should be considered as the final results, and subsequent calculations should be stopped.

Max SKU Count in Pallet

The count limit of SKU on a single pallet. If SKU is merged, this parameter refer to the count of merged SKU.

Assymmetry Between Layer

When one kind of SKU can fill an entire layer, the odd and even layers will use different pallet patterns.

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