Sorting and palletizing of 4-bottle packs through a heated shrink-wrap system for small businesses

Abstract

In Latin America, several businesses were established during the COVID-19 pandemic, which involved the process of packaging and distributing beverages. However, with the normalization of society and the increasing competition in the global market, the survival of these businesses is at risk. To ensure their competitiveness and reduce production costs, it is necessary to improve their processes. Small businesses face challenges in sorting, packaging, and palletizing filled bottles, a critical process usually carried out manually, increasing production costs and time. Therefore, to create more competitive businesses, this work proposes a semiautomatic sorting and palletizing system tailored for small or artisanal businesses. The paper provides a detailed overview of the mechatronic design, including selecting materials, motors, controllers, and sensors. It also explains the step-by-step process for controlling servomotors and sensors, the system's programming, and control. The machine's functionality was probed through ordering sequence and heating tests. With these experiments, the machine was improved to achieve 100% accuracy in sorting bottles and 90% in palletizing the 4-bottle packs.