1. Market Background

In South Africa’s recycled aluminum and casting industry, collecting, cooling and stacking ingots after casting has long relied on manual work or simple mechanisms. As output grows, manual handling in hot areas becomes physically demanding, stacking rhythm is unstable, and pile height and neatness are difficult to standardize. This not only reduces yard utilization but also raises safety risks. Automated ingot stacking systems are therefore attracting increasing interest.

2. Customer & Application Scenario

The customer is an aluminum ingot producer serving local metallurgy and casting markets, operating multiple casting lines. Previously, ingot collection and stacking depended mainly on workers and basic conveyors. At high throughput, operators had to work close to hot zones and handle ingots frequently, making it difficult to guarantee both efficiency and safety. The customer wanted to implement gantry-type ingot stacking systems on two lines to automate piling, reduce manual workload and improve stack quality.

3. Our Solution (Product & Specifications)

The solution consists of two gantry manipulator ingot stacking machines, each assigned to one ingot production line, featuring:

• Gantry beams with manipulators that move in two or three axes;

• Automated pickup from the casting line, with gripping, rotating and placing according to predefined patterns;

• Flexible stacking patterns defined by pallet size and target stack height, building neat and consistent ingot piles.

The ingot stacking systems are integrated with existing conveyors and line signals, adjusting manipulator cycle times to match line speed and prevent both blockages and missing ingots.

4. Customer Feedback

After commissioning, the customer reported that ingot stacking on both lines became essentially unmanned, with fewer operators required and reduced physical workload and heat exposure. Because the gantry ingot stacking machines follow consistent stacking programs, pile heights are uniform and edges are neat, improving yard utilization and making forklift handling smoother.
In terms of system stability, the manipulator cycle times match the casting line throughput well. Alarms and interlocks work as intended to prevent cascade failures, giving the customer confidence to push further with automation upgrades.

5. Conclusion

For South African ingot producers, deploying gantry manipulator ingot stacking systems is an effective way to cut labor and safety risks while improving yard management and loading efficiency. This project shows that integrating stacking into the overall production line automation strategy is an important step toward enhancing overall competitiveness.