TECHNOLOGY | ROBOTS AND AUTOMATION


Right: This Engel Viper 20 has an extra-long reach along the X axis


with as little as two people. Our return on invest- ment was less than two months, and we can even go further because we’re able to adapt the robots to other products so quickly,” says McGillivray. Whatever the advantages of six-axis robots, it is


clear that in many applications, linear robots are still more than adequate for the job – and they are getting better all the time. And while six-axis proponents say their products are becoming more popular, it is also true that linear robots are increas- ingly capable of doing what once might have been thought could only have been done by six-axis types. Processors are becoming spoilt for choice. Deborah Lidauer, product manager for automa-


tion at Engel, says applications for the company’s Viper robots are increasing in diversity. “The legacy application for the Viper linear robot is serving an injection moulding machine, but there are even more examples on the market where a free-stand- ing Viper is used for downstream processes, where it significantly boosts efficiency,” she says. For these applications, Engel mounts the linear robots on a separate gantry, which absorbs the robot’s dynamic action just like the injection moulding machine. Case in point is at Steinbach, a producer of swimming pool accessories located not far from Engel in Schwertberg, Austria, which has just installed a new production facility. It has a Viper 40, equipped with the longest available Z axis. Engel says it plays a key role in Steinbach’s overall automation strategy. The Viper 40 connects two Engel E-motion injection moulding machines used for producing container caps with a high-bay warehouse. “We have taken a totally new approach here,” says Michael Meister, proprietor of engineering com-


pany Meister-Quadrat in Niklasdorf, Austria, which is mainly responsible for the new manufacturing and injection moulding processes. “Palletising tasks are something that linear robots are normally not expected to handle. Steinbach also initially envis- aged an articulated robot in the concept planning, but we would not have achieved our efficiency objectives with it. The linear robot is cheaper, needs less space, is easier to operate, and even faster when it comes to stacking. We now have the simplest, most efficient and most cost-effective solution. Linear robots open up far more options than many processors believe.” Engel says operating the stand-alone robot is


also so easy for the plastics engineers at the plant because the injection moulding machines are also equipped with Engel Viper linear robots. The robots on the E-motion machines remove different types of container caps from the moulds and deposit them on conveyors that run above the clamping units. At the end of the conveyor, the stand-alone robot


alternately picks up 16 round caps and four snap-on caps and sorts them into boxes. Layers are sepa- rated by sheets of cardboard, which the Viper also autonomously picks from the magazine and places. Every ten seconds, the robot transmits the


current quantities to the high-bay warehouse, reports full boxes and requests empty ones. A transverse carriage automatically transfers the boxes. The stand-alone robot transfers up to 50,000 parts a day from production to the high-bay warehouse, which is one of the largest in Austria with 60,000 pallet bays. At K2019 last October, Engel announced that


Above: Container caps at Steinbach are produced on two adjacent Engel E-motion machines with integrated Viper robots. Directly behind them is the stand-alone robot that connects the injection moulding cell with a high-bay warehouse


44 INJECTION WORLD | April 2020


Viper linear robots in sizes from 12 to 60 can now be supplied with a longer reach (X-stroke), without compromising load-bearing capacities and maximum dynamics. Reach on the Viper 20, for example, has increased from 900 mm to 1,100 mm,


www.injectionworld.com


IMAGE: ENGEL


IMAGE: ENGEL


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52