ROBOTS AND AUTOMATION | TECHNOLOGY
has a Motoman GP7 with mechanical gripper equipped with integrated sensor technology. The contacts are positioned in workpiece
carriers, which are then passed to a Motoman GP50 on Module II. This 6-axis robot, with a reach of 2 m and a maximum payload of 50 kg, fits the carriers into a two-component injection moulding machine that first fixes the contacts in position, and then overmoulds a connector plug. Finally, the overmoulded connectors are placed on another workpiece carrier, which is transferred to Module III. Here, another Arburg machine overmoulds a liquid silicone rubber lip onto the connectors. This obviates the need for a separate seal. Module III also uses a Motoman GP50. It removes the connectors from the workpiece carrier and checks to make sure they are at the right temperature before overmoulding, by holding them in front of a thermal imaging camera. Another Motoman GP7 is used on Module IV,
where the task is to pick up the finished parts and move them to a revolving transfer unit. “On this revolving transfer unit there are various test stations and an assembly station equipped with a Motoman SG650 SCARA robot. We’ve succeeded in integrat- ing a really large number of processes in an extremely compact space,” says Jens Gradenegger, Team Leader Injection Moulding Automation at KE Elektronik.
Early in the Covid-19 pandemic, Stäubli
collaborated with companies in the Auvergne- Rhone-Alpes region of France in a high-speed project to create an automated production cell for medical ventilator filters. The cell, which combines Stäubli’s TS2-60 SCARA robot and TX2-90 6-axis robots, was designed and manufactured in under ten weeks. Infiplast, which specialises in medical devices, was charged with the design, prototyping, testing
Above: The Yaskawa Motoman GP7 robot at KE Elektronik is critical in terms of the time cycle because it not only loads the rotating transfer unit but also finalises the process by placing the finished parts in trays in an automated palletising system
and manufacture of a new housing containing the heat and moisture exchanger (HME) filter. The cell takes up only 8 m² of space. The TX2-90 robot collects the various plastic
parts for the filter from the press outlet. It places the base of the case and its cover on a turntable. After inserting the foam and the membrane, the six-axis robot assembles the box and places it on the ultrasonic welding station. The TS2 SCARA robot then positions the boxes for final operations: testing and labelling. It directs the compliant filters toward packaging, and channels non-compliant filters to the rejects. A quality assurance system is integrated into auto- mated production.
CLICK ON THE LINKS FOR MORE INFORMATION: �
www.arburg.com �
www.kuka.com �
www.engelglobal.com �
www.kraussmaffei.com �
www.sumitomo-shi-demag.eu �
www.fanuc.com �
www.universal-robots.com �
www.muller-technology.com �
http://vistatek.com �
www.star-europe.com �
www.campetella.com �
www.waldorf-technik.de �
www.sepro-group.com �
https://ke-elektronik.de �
www.egsautomatisierung.de �
www.yaskawa.eu.com �
www.staubli.com �
https://ifr.org
www.injectionworld.com
Left: During filter produc- tion at Infiplast, the two robots, a Stäubli SCARA TS2-60 and a six-axis TX2-90, work hand in hand
April 2022 | INJECTION WORLD 55
IMAGE: STÄUBLI
IMAGE: KE ELEKTRONIK
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