A load former includes a frame, a loading zone bounded on a first end by a stop wall having a stop surface lying in a plane and a rear wall at a rear side of the frame, and a cookie sheet slidably supported by the frame for travel along a path perpendicular to the plane. The path includes portions on first and second sides of the plane, and a portion of the cookie sheet in the second portion of the path defines a bottom of the loading zone. A platform extends over the first portion of the path, and a top wall is vertically spaced from the platform to define a storage space between the top wall and the platform. The storage space has a front opening so that it is accessible from the front of the load former.

Systems and methods are disclosed for packing optimization and visualization. In one example, a method for managing a shipment of a plurality of products, comprises: obtaining a request for a packing instruction from a user via a user interface; ranking the products based on their weight information and dimension information to generate a first ranking list; ranking one or more containers based on their dimension information to generate a second ranking list; determining, based on the first ranking list and the second ranking list, a plurality of layout configurations for packing the products into at least one container selected from the one or more containers; selecting a layout configuration from the plurality of layout configurations based at least partially on a rate table including shipping rate information of one or more shipping carriers identified by the user, wherein the selected layout configuration minimizes a cost of shipping the products; generating a visual illustration of the layout configuration; and providing a packing instruction comprising the visual illustration to the user via the user interface.

A process and system for manual multi-layer stacking of objects having different dimensions on a load carrier in a predetermined spatial arrangement including determining the spatial arrangement of the objects to be packed according to an order listing, delivering the objects to a supply level of a workstation in a sequence based on the spatial arrangement automatically by an autonomous mobile robot and/or an automated guided vehicle, supplying objects to a working level of the workstation and there presenting the objects to the operator, manually moving the objects onto a support connected to a manual stacking station in the working level and presenting the load carrier in the manual stacking station, where the load carrier defines a work surface for the stack being formed on four sides as it is packed with objects, and manually placing each object at a position in the stack according to the predetermined spatial arrangement.

A method for automatically stacking packages of different sizes in layers on a support in a specified spatial arrangement so as to form a stack by determining the order and spatial position of the packages of different sizes in the stack to be formed in a computer-assisted manner, including by placing the individual packages in an order by a conveyor system, and transporting the packages to be loaded from the conveyor system to the pre-calculated spatial positions on the support or the stack being formed on the support using the handling means of a stacking device. The specified order and the specified spatial position of the packages are used to computationally check whether at least two packages following each other on a conveyor system path leading to the stacking device can be transported together to the pre-calculated spatial positions by the handling means.

A method for automatically stacking packages of different sizes in layers on a support in a specified spatial arrangement so as to form a stack by determining the order and spatial position of the packages of different sizes in the stack to be formed in a computer-assisted manner, including by placing the individual packages in an order by a conveyor system, and transporting the packages to be loaded from the conveyor system to the pre-calculated spatial positions on the support or the stack being formed on the support using the handling means of a stacking device. The specified order and the specified spatial position of the packages are used to computationally check whether at least two packages following each other on a conveyor system path leading to the stacking device can be transported together to the pre-calculated spatial positions by the handling means.

Shuttle robots (107) are used that are suitable for moving trolleys (106, 106′) under the control of a monitoring and control unit (190) for handling objects so as to move them from a collection point (110) to a palletizing station (151) remote from the collection point, the shuttle robots being autonomously movable and being suitable for hitching to and unhitching from the trolleys, the monitoring and control unit controls the shuttle robots so that they move the objects on trolleys from the collection point to a buffer storage zone (141) where the articles on the trolleys are grouped together into batches of articles for palletizing, and the monitoring and control unit controls the shuttle robots so that they take the objects on trolleys grouped together in batches from the buffer storage zone and move them in sequence to the palletizing station.

The present disclosure is directed to a wafer container including: a housing configured for transporting a plurality of wafers, wherein the plurality of wafers are stacked on a base of the housing in a first direction; a plurality of wafer separator rings; each of the wafer separator rings configured to encircle a wafer of the plurality of wafers in a second direction that is substantially perpendicular to the first direction, each of the wafer separator rings including a top surface and a bottom surface, defining a thickness there between extending in the first direction, which is about 0.3 mm-1.4 mm; and each of the wafer separator rings including an inner side wall and an outer side wall defined by an inner diameter and an outer diameter, respectively, in the second direction, wherein the inner diameter of the wafer separator ring is greater than 300 mm and configured to be spaced apart from the wafer it is encircling.

Methods and systems for sorting hides are provided. In particular, one or more embodiments comprise a tanning control system that enhances the traceability of hides by capturing and utilizing data related to the unloading, tanning, sorting, and packaging of hides. Furthermore, one or more embodiments enable the tanning control system to improve efficiency by sorting hides based, at least in part, on data generated during prior tanning processes. Additionally, one or more embodiments facilitate the tanning control system in customizing the sorting and packaging of hides based, at least in part, on one or more hide characteristics and/or customer specifications.

Methods and systems for sorting hides are provided. In particular, one or more embodiments comprise a tanning control system that enhances the traceability of hides by capturing and utilizing data related to the unloading, tanning, sorting, and packaging of hides. Furthermore, one or more embodiments enable the tanning control system to improve efficiency by sorting hides based, at least in part, on data generated during prior tanning processes. Additionally, one or more embodiments facilitate the tanning control system in customizing the sorting and packaging of hides based, at least in part, on one or more hide characteristics and/or customer specifications.

A robotic system for arranging packages at a destination according to a stacking sequence. The robotic system uses a storage area for temporarily storing packages that arrive out-of-sequence until they are next-in-sequence for placement at the destination. The robotic system processes an incoming package, determines if it is next-in-sequence for placement at the destination, and if it is, places the package at the destination. On the other hand, if it is not next-in-sequence for placement at the destination, it stores the package in the storage area. A package in the storage area is transferred to the destination when it is next-in-sequence for placement at the destination. By using the temporary storage for storing out of sequence packages, the robotic system eliminates the need for receiving the packages in a stacking sequence, which also eliminates the need for sequencing machines.