Automation Canada - Automation in 2021 - 21

COBOTS: THE NEW OPTION FOR INJECTION MOLDERS
BY JOE CAMPBELL, SENIOR MANAGER OF APPLICATIONS DEVELOPMENT, UNIVERSAL ROBOTS
Take all the versatility of an articulated-arm
robot, and add the ability to work safely in
proximity to humans without guarding, and
you have a new option for freeing workers from
repetitive operations.
* Post-mold processes.
Customers are requiring molders to deliver
more complete parts and assemblies, and
molders are glad to increase their value.
Degating, trimming, polishing, decorating,
assembly, wrapping and packaging are now
common tasks that are perfect candidates for
automation.
* Improved surface finish.
Customers are setting very high standards
Thirty years ago, full servo-controlled robots
of any kinematic configuration were rarely
deployed in injection molding applications.
The most common approach was to deploy a
simple
three-axis,
point-to-point Cartesian
robot that was machine mounted. With
enough Z (vertical) stroke to reach the
centerline of the platen, these very simple
robots quickly extracted parts from the mold
and delivered them to totes or conveyors.
Twenty years ago, full servo-controlled
Cartesian robots became common, providing
greater precision and control of the end-of-arm
tools. Fiſteen years ago, molders began
applying six-axis robots in increasing numbers.
This evolution was driven by several
technical and business drivers that continue
today:
CANADIAN AUTOMATION
for surface finishes, which require parts to be
carefully handled from the mold to the final
package or shipping container.
* Shorter product life cycles.
The pace of product updates and new
introductions requires constant change in
manufacturing processes.
* High mix/low volume.
Product customization, small lot sizes and
on-demand production to reduce inventory
are driving short runs, making setup even more
demanding.
In the last 10 years, and with increasing
frequency of late, plastics processors have
begun adopting a new level of automation,
called collaborative
robots, or
" cobots. "
Generally based on articulated-arm
technology, these cobots add a layer of safety,
user-programmability, and mobility to
standard six-axis robots. To understand the
cobots' attraction, it helps to start with a review
of what makes articulated-arm robots popular
in the first place.
The positioning flexibility and overall work
At 2K Trend in the Czech Republic, a UR10 cobot picks up inserts to be
placed in the injection mold.
envelope of six-axis robots are key to their
success in injection molding. The additional
degrees of freedom translate into more
choices and options in all phases of the
material handling, assembly, and other
applications which translate into real process
advantages:
* Flexibility to execute pre-and post-mold
processes.
Placing inserts into the mold and moving
parts through post-mold processes means
complex motions and demanding angles and
positions.
* Reduced tooling costs.
Four-axis Cartesian robots oſten require
complex tooling to make up for their kinematic
limitations. The range of motion and flexibility
of six-axis articulated robots simplify tooling
and gripper costs and complexity.
VOLUME 3, ISSUE 4
22
https://www.universal-robots.com/
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