Problem
Quest recognized a new need that was arising among our customer base in the food and beverage industry: the ability to be to change pack patterns for existing pallets or add new patterns due to a new case or product. Traditionally, the only way for customers to do this, was to contact a service technician who would program the new pattern into the palletizer. Between the cost and the delay to implement the new pattern or case into production, this need was at the forefront for our customers.
Solution
Quest developed a way to address this need to create new cases and pallet patterns on the customer site. Customers need a reliable and intuitive way to update existing palletizers, but also a method to prevent them from creating patterns that would not work with the robot’s capabilities. The solution was Quest’s QBox software. Through an easy and intuitive touchscreen drag-and-drop interface, QBox allows users to add new cases, and design new pallet patterns or modify existing ones.
QBox Today
QBox remains one of the most intuitive interfaces for robotic palletizers and has been recognized by many in the industry for its ease of use. The current version arrives with the machine preprogrammed with all agreed upon patterns or recipes. From there a user can modify case dimensions, drag-and-drop cases to form desired pack patterns or let QBox automatically calculate the most efficient pattern structure to optimize product density on the pallet.
QBox not only works with the individual cases and patterns for each layer, but the user can also select the number of layers to stack on the pallet, define stack pattern (interlock or column) for each layer, place slip sheets where desired, and change pallet style. Given this flexibility, QBox is a truly powerful tool for its end-users.