want to do ourselves, so we couldn’t ask an employee to do it either. We were also concerned with our ability to keep up production if the employee was absent. Gosiger’s answer was to include a robot with the CNC cell. Adding the robot didn’t cost anyone his job, in fact we added 1.5 people to program and manage the system,” said Meyer. The solution Gosiger Automation devised uses two Okuma Genos L-300MW two-axis lathes serviced by a Fanuc M-10iA six-axis industrial robot. Because the lathes are equipped with subspindles and redundant tooling, there is little wait time between operations. The system also includes Gosiger’s standard Modular Drawer Cell that enables users to load raw workpieces and unload fi nished parts weighing up to 20 lb (9 kg) in a heavy-duty drawer system. Each drawer of the cabinet can hold part payloads of up to 400 lb (181.4 kg). For this application, Gosiger Automation mounted the
robot, robot control, and inbound/outbound four-drawer system on a common frame, positioned in between and centered on the two lathes, with the drawer system on one side for staging raw and fi nished parts. The robot employs two mechanical, three-jaw grippers for loading and unload- ing workpieces. This tooling enables the robot to handle two parts at a time for more effi cient machine unloading and reloading. This confi guration also has the advantage of easy and inexpensive reprogramming and retooling if part dimen- sions change, or when it’s necessary to adapt the system to new parts orders.
The operator begins the process by loading the castings centerline vertical into the system with the fi rst surface to be machined facing up. In operation, the robot pulls a drawer into the cell, picks a raw casting from the drawer, unloads a fi nished part from the main spindle and loads the raw casting into the subspindle at the same time. While the subspindle is running, the robot places the fi nished part it took out of the main spindle into the drawer.
When the subspindle has run its cycle, the subspindle places the semifi nished part into the main spindle to fi nish it. The robot returns the fi nished part to the drawer and the process repeats. When all parts in a drawer are completed, the robot pushes the drawer back into the cabinet and pulls another drawer full of castings into the cell for continuous parts processing from drawer to drawer. Because each ma- chine produces a fi nished part, if one lathe is being serviced the other continues to run production. As part of Toolcraft’s quality control, after a set num- ber of parts are processed, the system automatically
discharges a part into a chute for inspection and lights a beacon to alert the operator while automation continues. If, after a prescribed period of time, the operator has not responded, the system stops running and sounds an audible alarm.
When unloading fi nished parts from the drawer cell, the operator blows off any debris and visually inspects the parts before sending them on for delivery. A number of safeguards, including perimeter guarding with an interlocked access point are built into the system to protect personnel from coming in contact with the robot arm. “Our customer, Tuthill, is very happy with the parts we’re
producing with this new system and with the fl exibility that allows us to meet their JIT delivery requirements as order volumes fl uctuate,” said Meyer. For more information from Gosiger Automation, go to
www.gosiger.com, or phone 877-288-1538; for information from Toolcraft LLC, go to
www.toolcraftfw.com, or phone 260-749-0454.
FIXTURING AND MACHINE TOOL ACCESSORIES.
• Workholding supports, stops, blocks and plates
• Flexible positioning and support components for workpieces of all sizes and shapes
• Fixture plate locating & mounting systems
Call us at 888.794.8687 or visit us online for ordering, specs and CAD files.
www.fixtureworks.net
FXW-097
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