How to load Layers on a Pallet

How to load Layers on a Pallet

Pallets in Cube-IQ can load Products in Layers

A Pallet Rule is available to have Products layered when loaded on to Pallets.

Layered products enable more options such as:
  1. Spreading products to evenly distribute them between Pallet's edges
  2. Rotating product layers
Spreading Products on a pallet and having Products rotated produces a much more stable loaded Pallet.

Here are two Pallets where left Pallet is without layers and second Pallet has rotated layers that are spread.



In this exercise we will begin with a Pallet Container having default settings and configured for "Bottom to Top" Load direction and "In Height" Load compacting.

Set Load direction and Load compacting for Pallets by: 1) click Containers, 2) click Loading tab, 3) select Bottom to Top radiobutton, and 4) select In height radiobutton



Cube-IQ helps with Layering by providing a button to set best values for the Palletizing Rules

Palletizing Rule values are blank by default. There is a Set Values button with a checkered flag that automatically places the best settings to begin with.

Automatically Set Values for Palletizing Rules by: 1) click Containers, 2) click Palletizing tab, and 3) click Set Value button




The following Palletizing Rules settings are automatically updated:
  1. Use seq/groups only for depalletizing
  2. Maximum gap after spreading
  3. Minimum bridging support
  4. Max. height difference in layer
  5. Max. height difference in layer at top
  6. Max. height differential

Use Cube-IQ's Load layers feature to layer Products in a Pallet

The Load layers feature for Pallet Containers is disabled by default.

Here is a Load where orange and green products are loaded without the Load layer feature. Illustration is with orange and green Products loaded separately and then together.



Have the Pallet load Products in layers by 1) click Containers menu, 2) click Pallet rules tab, 3) click Load layers checkbox



Only Load layers box is checked. The other Layers fields will be discussed in the next section.

Here is how the orange and green Pallets are loaded when Load layers is enable, and how orange and green Products are loaded together.



  1. The orange Products formation is unchanged after loading them in layers
  2. The green Product's formation has changed to be more suited to load a Pallet of green Products
  3. The orange and green Pallet formation together has also changed to have their corners and edges line up better

Use Spread layers feature to load Layers along the 4 edges of Pallets

Having enabling layers will allow the Spread Layers rule to be checked. Spread Layers rule will evenly distribute product layers between the edges of a pallets.

Enable Spread Layers by:  1) click Containers menu, 2) click Pallet Rules, and 3) check Spread layers box



Here is the orange Pallet result, green Pallet result and the orange and green Pallet after Spread Units is checked.



  1. The orange Products formation has not changed on account of them already along the Pallet's edge
  2. The green Product's formation has changed to be distributed evenly between edge of Pallet
  3. The orange and green Pallet formation together has also changed to have the corners and edges line up to the corners of the pallet

Use Rotate layers feature for better stability

Having enabled Layers and its Units spread, a layer can also be rotated.

Rotate Layers by: 1) click Containers, 2) click Pallet Rules, and 3) check Rotate layers box



Here is the orange Pallet, green Pallet, and the orange and green Pallet result after Rotate layers is checked.


  1. The orange Pallet's formation for the second layer is rotated rotated 90 degrees
  2. The green Product's formation for second layer is also now rotated 90 degrees
  3. The orange and green Pallet formation together has also changed to have every other layer rotated 90 degrees
Rotating layers produces a more stable Pallet. Here are two pallets showing their Stability index.



  1. Left Pallet is Layered/Spread/Rotated, and has Stability Index of 0.866
  2. Right Pallet is loaded without Layers and only has Stability Index of 0.318
Stability index is much better for the Pallet where products are Layered, Spread, and Rotated.



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