ROBOTS AND AUTOMATION | TECHNOLOGY
Never have robots been more in demand than now as injection moulders adapt to the difficulty of recruiting
staff.Peter Mapleston reports on developments
In search of lost time: Robots help cut cycle times
Automation systems involving various types of robots are helping injection moulding companies produce better parts, faster. They are also helping them recover from reductions in the workforce caused by long- and short-term factors: getting people to do mundane jobs has never been easy and it is getting harder; plus, Covid-19 continues to cast its shadow over operations in closed environments. Andreas Armbruster, Head of Automation &
Turnkey Solutions at Arburg, says: “The level of automation in plastics processing is continuously increasing. Arburg currently supplies around one in three injection moulding machines worldwide together with a robotic system. Not only is the complexity of the systems increasing, but very flexible automation solutions are also in demand. The range of automation solutions extends from simple sprue pickers and linear robotic systems to six-axis robots and complex turnkey systems.” He continues: “Robotic systems are particularly
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helpful in the production of medical equipment during pandemics. The increased demand for cleanroom production that has been observed for several years has once again gained significant momentum as a result of the current situation.” Arburg six-axis robots have the same user interface as the Allrounder machine controller. As the Gestica control system is gradually replacing the proven Selogica, all six-axis robots made for Arburg by Kuka have been equipped with the new Gestica user interface as standard since the start of the year. This ensures even better performance: with the new sequence editor, robot programs can be created much more quickly than before. (Arburg customers can decide which robot system they prefer; however, Kuka is the only six-axis robot solution with the Gestica user interface, which means that its sequence can easily be defined ty the machine operator, with no need for special programming knowledge and
Main image: If the robot can travel into the mould area during the mould opening movement, cycle time can be shortened. The effect is particularly large in the case of parts with long cores, such as boxes, shown in this photo from Engel
April 2022 | INJECTION WORLD 45
IMAGE: ENGEL
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