ROBOTS | TECHNOLOGY
KraussMaffei’s new LRX range of robots
– cobots – require a smaller physical footprint than traditional robots and are safe for humans to be around. It also says they are easy to program and inexpensive enough to provide a rapid return on investment. “Part of what makes cobots smart is the
software behind the robot,
of a state-of-the-art car,” says Thomas Marufke, Managing Director of KraussMaffei Automation. “Like a car that conserves energy by cutting the engine at a stoplight using an engine start-stop feature, in automation, only the amount of vacuum currently needed in the cycle is generated,” he says. Savings of up to 95% of the compressed air requirement are achievable. The new digital vacuum monitoring is fully
integrated in the standard models of the KM’s MC6 injection moulding control system. At its Technology Days in March, and again at the Hanover Fair in April, Arburg demonstrated how to integrate specific customer requests on-line into a running injection moulding process, thanks to clever product and tool design, Industry 4.0-type communications and – of course – robotics. A turnkey system based around a vertical Allrounder injection moulding machine produced elastic tension straps on demand and in versions that could be changed from shot to shot, without any hardware conversions. Such an application is ideal for cable assembly in the automotive industry for example, Arburg says. Visitors could choose between 40, 60 and 80-cm
long straps in three colours and with three different end piece combinations, by inputting the variant of their choice directly at the terminal. The require- ments were transferred to the production cell’s central control system via the OPC UA communica- tion protocol. The strap was cut to the selected length from a roll and the ends spliced using a plasma process. The flexible inserts were handled by a six-axis Kuka robot housed within the ma- chine’s installation area.
Collaborating, not replacing Among independent robotics and automation specialists, Rethink Robotics is one of the new wave of producers of robots designed to work next to operatives. It says that these collaborative robots
www.injectionworld.com April 2018 | INJECTION WORLD 19
like Rethink’s Intera platform, which [provides] manufacturers with an easy-to-use solution that connects the work cell, integrates connected grippers and provides a rapid ROI,” says the company. “Cobots are easy to train and typically don’t require programming, robotics or engineer- ing training on the part of the operator.” In the injection moulding field, cobots have
proven to reduce labour costs and increase throughput by using the robot in tasks that are ergonomically challenging for humans. Harrison Manufacturing, a custom plastics injection mould- ing manufacturer in Jackson, MS, specializing in moulding and light assembly, recently deployed Rethink Robotics’ Sawyer robot because, Rethink says, there was not enough floorspace to house a larger traditional robot and its caging. Harrison Manufacturing will soon be implement- ing a second robot in another section of the assembly line, using Sawyer for a variety of tasks, including part inspection, quality assurance, pick and place and line loading and unloading. “The company has also minimised injuries, because repetitive, ergonomically challenging tasks are reassigned to cobot counterparts while Harrison’s employees are able to be assigned more valuable positions,” Rethink says.
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Left: Flexible inserts were handled by a six-axis Kuka robot in a demonstration by Arburg
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