automation | Technology
concept for the modules, in order to make it possible to easily integrate and replace different elements. “The interfaces, design sizes and control unit were set up so that additional production and inspection processes can be integrated into the overall process,” says Klaus Wanner, head of sales and marketing at Hekuma. “In addition to that, component inspections, welding and packaging processes can be extracted from the overall process without significant consequences, such as the need for substantial software modifications.” Hekuma says the modular design of the Hekuflex
system will significantly reduce the engineering effort required for new project development. Installation times will also be much reduced. Three modules were demonstrated in operation at
NPE as part of a pipette automation system. The first station took the pipette tips from the gripper and put them into the shuttle system. Each shuttle was moved over a camera in the second module, so that each pipette tip could be checked “on the fly.” The pipette tips were
then packed in racks in the third module. A similar system will be running at Fakuma in Germany in October. Hekuma reports increasing interest in its more
traditional systems from around the world. The company has had a local presence in China for more than three years, for example, and says this is now beginning to pay off, with around 100 attendees at its latest Technology Days in Shanghai. “Not only European and US customers [with operations in China], but also local companies in the automotive, medical device and consumer goods industries are increasingly investing in automation systems,” Wanner says.
China’s awareness growing Wanner admits that direct business in China is still at a low level, “but once companies there are ready to invest in high-end systems, we are prepared. There is an awareness in China that the need to increase quality is rising.” For the moment, the tendency is still for Hekuma
Hybrid partnership delivers for H&B
Germany’s H&B Electronic specialises in production of complex hybrid components combining injection moulded plastics and in-house stamped metal components. It works closely with injection machinery maker Arburg and Kuka robot integrator FPT Robotik to develop automated production systems, with one of the most recent projects a complex plug-in power connector in PBT for an automotive electric power steering system. The connector is produced in a fully
automated system comprising two stamping presses, an Arburg Allrounder 1500 T vertical two-component rotary table injection machine and a testing cell with several stations. Handling is performed by three six-axis robotic systems that work together with two linear robotic systems traversing on a cross head. All communication between the
stamping presses, injection machine and robotic systems takes place via Arburg’s Selogica control system. Thanks to a “part status” function, the machines and robotic systems always know the position of the inserts, pre-moulded parts and finished parts. “All sequences have a clear and logical structure and changes can be
36 INJECTION WORLD | July/August 2015
implemented automatically with ease,” says Helmut Gräther, Manager of Project and Process Planning at H&B Electronic. Two small Agilus six-axis robotic
systems place two 7- or 4-way contacts onto a transfer table (the gripper technology for removing the preformed contacts and inserting them in the mould in the correct position was developed jointly by H&B Electronic and FPT Robotik). The first linear robot system carries the removed contacts via a cleaning station to the rotary table. The second linear robot turns the pre-mould- ed parts over, removes the finished parts
Arburg and FPT Robotic developed this automation cell for H&B Electronic
and transfers them to the testing station. In the testing station, pin positions are
checked while the contact is still in the gripper before the finished part is set down. A third six-axis Agilus robot performs all the further downstream operations, including electrical continuity and insulation testing, bonding a membrane onto the moulded part and testing it for damage, and application and verification of a Data Matrix Code by laser. Finally, good parts are packaged in blister packs of 20. ❙
www.arburg.com ❙
www.fpt.de
www.injectionworld.com
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