Embodiments of a system and a method for determining an edge hardness value for a cementitious board can be used to effectively determine the hardness of the board after it has been made and dried at a predetermined location, such as, at a stacking station, for example. An actuator assembly can manipulate a punch such that the punch is inserted into one of the edges of one of the cementitious boards in the stacker in a controlled manner. A force gauge can be associated with the punch to measure the resistance force exerted by the cementitious board in response to the punch being inserted into its edge. The measured resistance force can be used to determine the edge hardness value.

A sod harvester with an increased sod harvesting rate obtainable through a reduction in the time for completion of a sod handling cycle with the reduction in time obtained through changes in the interactions of transfer mechanisms within the sod harvester.

A jump shuttle conveyor system is configured to receive formed food patties from a molding assembly of a patty forming machine. The system includes a lifting plate and belt assembly coupled to a frame which are configured to be indexed to different vertical positions relative to the frame. Formed food patties are received on a belt of the belt assembly thereon, and can be moved off of the belt onto a transfer shuttle conveyor system. An output conveyor system can be provided to receive the formed food patties.

The invention relates to a method for the picking and packing of goods (5) from at least one source storage installation (1) on at least one target load carrier (3) according to a packing layout. In order to achieve a particularly efficient method, it is provided according to the invention that a partial amount of the goods (5) that are to be positioned on the target load carrier (3) are arranged in a grouping region (2) according to a grouping (6) that corresponds to a part of the packing layout, after which the grouping (6) is moved from the grouping region (2) into a position on the target load carrier (3) that corresponds to the packing layout. Furthermore, the invention relates to a device for the picking and packing of goods (5) from at least one source storage installation (1) on at least one target load carrier (3) according to a packing layout.

An example pallet auto box with robot palletizer includes a conveyor to move a pallet into a loading area adjacent a robot for loading bags onto the pallet. The example pallet auto box with robot palletizer also includes an auto box having at least one wall, and in an example four walls, that can be raised and lowered. The at least one wall is raised as the robot stacks bags onto the pallet to maintain a border around the edge of the pallet for the bags to be stacked on the pallet. At least one wall opens as a door or gate after the pallet has been loaded with bags so that the loaded pallet can be moved out of the loading area and a next pallet moved into the loading area. The at least one wall is lowered again for stacking bags onto the next pallet.

A palletizing elevator is provided that lowers gradually a pallet thereon from an upper level as it is filled with products, and by providing an empty pallet infeed system that moves empty pallets towards the palletizing elevator simultaneously to the palletizing of products thereon. The empty pallet infeed system includes an empty pallet elevator for raising empty pallets to the upper level and a conveying system between the empty pallet elevator and the palletizing elevator for moving the empty pallets of from the empty pallet elevator at the upper level to the palletizing elevator while a pallet is moved by the palletizing elevator during its filling.

A system for loading containers onto a pallet or a dolly includes a conveyor configured to convey the pallet or the dolly from an upstream end to an opposite downstream end. The conveyor has a first conveyance device configured to convey the pallet and a second conveyance device configured to convey the dolly. The second conveyance device is vertically below the first conveyance device such that the pallet is conveyed above the second conveyance device. A loading system is configured to receive, organize, and load the containers onto the dolly or the pallet conveyed by the conveyor.

A system for loading containers onto a transport structure includes a slip sheet configured to receive the containers. The slip sheet is moveable from a first position in which the containers are received onto the slip sheet and a second position in which the slip sheet is vertically above the transport structure. A first brace member is adjacent to the second end of the slip sheet and a second brace member is adjacent to the first end of the slip sheet when the slip sheet is in the second position such that when the slip sheet is moved in a second direction from the second position to the first position the second brace member is configured to prevent the containers from moving in the second direction with the slip sheet and the containers vertically fall off the slip sheet onto the transport structure.

A palletizing elevator is provided that lowers gradually a pallet thereon from an upper level as it is filled with products, and by providing an empty pallet infeed system that moves empty pallets towards the palletizing elevator simultaneously to the palletizing of products thereon. The empty pallet infeed system includes an empty pallet elevator for raising empty pallets to the upper level and a conveying system between the empty pallet elevator and the palletizing elevator for moving the empty pallets of from the empty pallet elevator at the upper level to the palletizing elevator while a pallet is moved by the palletizing elevator during its filling.

A method including filling an internal passage of an additively manufactured (AM) article with a state change fluid, causing the state change fluid to change from a first state having a first viscosity to a second state that is either solid or has a second viscosity that is higher than the first viscosity within the internal passage, causing the state change fluid to change back from the second state to the first state, removing residual powder from the additively manufactured article by flushing the state change fluid from the internal passage, measuring electrical impedance of a piezoelectric wafer connected to the additively manufactured article, and determining that more than a threshold amount of residual powder remains within the AM article based on the measured electrical impendence of the additively manufactured article being outside of a selected range from an expected impendence value.