Saving time is saving money, and when it comes to reducing the time needed for opening and closing machines for extraction, the seconds saved can be substantial. Machine Sync, based on long experience of robotised machine tending, further increases the output of robot production by coordinating the opening and closing of the machine, thereby reducing cycle time. Furthermore, by synchronising the opening and closing, robot wear will be reduced and collisions can be avoided.
Increasing production output
The obvious benefit of Machine Sync is the reduced extraction time, thereby improving machine cycle time and increasing production output. In a typical case with an injection moulding machine in the range of 3000 tons moulding a typical automotive part and an IRB 6650 shelf robot, the saving in extraction time using synchronised early enter and early closing is above 10 per cent. Extrapolating this number for a machine running three shifts all year round with an extraction time of 10 seconds and a complete cycle time of 30 seconds would yield 35,000 more parts produced.
Safety included
Since the position on the robot path is synchronised with the machine reaching different positions, Machine Sync also ensures the safety of the application. Compared to just setting one intermediate signal when the machine is half open and then letting the robot enter, Machine Sync has a higher degree of safety and collision avoidance. Special safety zones, which can be configured depending on, e.g., the gripper dimensions and its geometry, allows safe operation in manual as well as in automatic mode.
Features
- By synchronising the robot’s movement with a linear sensor on a machine’s moving plate:
- Early enter - the robot is synchronized with the machine while entering it,
- Early closing - the machine can safely close early since the robot is synchronised with the moving plate when leaving the machine.
Benefits
- Extraction time reduced by about 10 per cent
- Reduced cycle time
- Increased machine time
- Reduced robot wear
- Avoidance of collisions
- Easy to configure and program.
Applications
Machine tending and material handling, especially injection moulding, die casting, machine tools and press tending