In the past, most industrial robots were designed for capital-intensive, large-volume manufacturing industries.  These systems, which are costly, complex and inflexible, were unsuitable for smaller, discrete manufacturers, who require low cost systems that are quick to install, simple to operate and can be quickly reconfigured to support small production volumes.  Suppliers of industrial robotics solutions have expanded their product offerings, as well as developed creative financing and leasing options, to support the needs of small-to-medium manufacturers (SMM), allowing them to adopt “Lean manufacturing” practices, which dramatically improve productivity, profitability and customer satisfaction.

Representative topics in the Robotic Solutions for Small-to-Medium Manufacturers track focus on the business issues and technical solutions supporting small-to-medium manufacturering using advanced robotics technologies, including:

Business Issues:

• Save Your Factory – Lean Manufacturing
• Selling Robotics to Management
• Financing and Leasing Options

Technical Solutions:

• Small Volume Manufacturing
• Application Specific Systems
• Flexible Automation
• Benchtop Systems
• Multi-Robot Systems
• Precision Assembly
• Human/Machine Interfaces
• Dexterous Grasping and Fine Manipulation
• Case Studies in Discrete Manufacturing

New Applications for Industrial Robotics

Over 1 million industrial robots are currently in service, with approximately 70% of these systems running applications for automakers and their suppliers.  In the past, most industrial robots were designed for capital-intensive, large-volume manufacturing in the automotive, electronics and semiconductor industries.  This percentage has been dropping dramatically as solution providers have added intelligence, vision, mobility and other capabilities to their systems, developed application specific products, and worked with integrators to develop new applications, often for industries that have never utilized robotics technology in the past.

The New Applications for Industrial Robotics track will highlight new, innovative and often surprising ways in which robots and robotic technology are being used to reduce costs and increase competitiveness.

More Information

The new ‘Y Series’ Delta Picker is ideal for the movement and placement of low weight products and offers extremely short cycle times typically 0.27 seconds for 1kg and of 0.45 seconds for a 3kg payload. With the work envelope of 1300mm diameter, this equates to a maximum work rate of 175 picks per minute.

The robot offers 4 axis operation but can have an optional 5th axis for the picking up of two parts in one cycle. Aimed at packaging and sorting process applications it is particularly suited to applications in the food, electronics and solar industries. For more information about the robot click here.

High Payload Capacity: With a 3 kg payload capacity, this robot can pick & place various types of workpieces at vary high speeds.

Large Motion Range: The robot’s large motion range (1,300 mm diameter and 500, Z-stroke) broadens its range of applications in food manufacturing and solar- panel production lines.

High Accuracy: High repeatability ensures accurate pick & place and high productivity. (positional repeatability:± 0.1 mm, angular repeatability: ± 0.1 degrees.

Wash-down with Acid or Alkaline Cleanser: The arm is designed for wash-down with acid or alkaline cleaner, thus assuring hygiene in food manufacturing plants.

Easy Maintenance: The shaft-less design prevents mechanical trouble, resulting in easy maintenance.

easyFairs PACKAGING IRELAND is a trade-only event where FMCG manufacturers, marketers and retailers get a chance to meet, source solutions and strike up relationships with future suppliers.

The RDS is situated in Ballsbridge, Dublin 4. It is located on a 42-acre site between The Four Seasons Hotel and Herbert Park on Merrion Road.

Click here for more information.

ENDS

For further details contact:  Michael McHugh, Managing Director

T:  +353 (0) 1 628 2824 | E: md@pakautomation.com

Click here for more information.

Auger Filling Systems, Bag Sealers, Cartoning Machines, Conveyor Systems
Flow Wrapping Machines, Hot Foil, Off-Line and Thermal Printers, Linear and Multi-Head Weighers
Metal Detectors, Pick and Place Machines, Pre-Owned Range of Equipment
Robotic Systems, Turnkey Solutions, Vertical Form/Fill/Seal Machines

Total Processing & Packaging 2010 is the UK’s leading integrated processing & packaging exhibition, showcasing production line solutions from beginning to end.

Covering all the major sectors including food & drink, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, household products and chemicals, there is no better opportunity for you to discover new solutions, equipment and technologies to enhance your product lines and automated packaging needs.

If you met with PAK Automation’s MD Michael McHugh, at Total Processing & Packaging 2010 and would like more information contact us today.

For further details contact:  Michael McHugh, Managing Director

T:  +353 (0) 1 628 2824 | E: md@pakautomation.com

Auger Filling Systems, Bag Sealers, Cartoning Machines, Conveyor Systems
Flow Wrapping Machines, Hot Foil, Off-Line and Thermal Printers, Linear and Multi-Head Weighers
Metal Detectors, Pick and Place Machines, Pre-Owned Range of Equipment
Robotic Systems, Turnkey Solutions, Vertical Form/Fill/Seal Machines

Clients know that when they have a packaging problem PAK will find the best possible solution at the most cost effective price.  Such was the case recently when a customer required a barcode scanning solution for their EAN13 barcodes.  The system had to be capable of detecting barcode labels, applied by a Pago applicator on the undersides of shrink-wrapped boxes, on a line running at 60 ft per minute.

The obvious choice was a SICK CLV410. The CLV410 was chosen due to its ability to operate as a standalone unit.  It has one programmable digital input which was used for the trigger signal, and three programmable digital outputs configured to act as a “stop on detect” if no valid EAN13 barcode is present upon receipt of a valid trigger signal.

The versatility of the CLV410, coupled with its high scanning frequency (up to 800Hz), ensures reliable security of this labelling system. An added benefit of the system is that it does not require a PLC to operate.

ENDS

For further details contact:  Michael McHugh, Managing Director

T:  +353 (0) 1 628 2824 | E: md@pakautomation.com

Auger Filling Systems, Bag Sealers, Cartoning Machines, Conveyor Systems
Flow Wrapping Machines, Hot Foil, Off-Line and Thermal Printers, Linear and Multi-Head Weighers
Metal Detectors, Pick and Place Machines, Pre-Owned Range of Equipment
Robotic Systems, Turnkey Solutions, Vertical Form/Fill/Seal Machines

For instance, Toshiba Machine’s TH350 SCARA (Selectively Compliant Articulated Robot Arm) was the logical choice when an Irish manufacturer of MCBs (Miniature Circuit Breakers) needed to replace an existing pneumatic pick and place machine. After changes to the manufacturing process, the existing equipment was not able to perform the required task in the necessary cycle time.

With the help of a local TM Robotics’ system integrator PAK Automation, the TH350 was installed and now easily meets its targets.

There were two principal reasons why the TH350 was chosen. Firstly, the production line manufactures MCBs at a rate of 24 a minute, so exceptional repeatable accuracy was required for this high-speed assembly task.  The TH350 is both fast and accurate – it offers repeatability and positioning to ±0.01mm and a completion time of 2.9m/s.

Size was the second important factor. The TH350 was ideal, as it is both compact and powerful, offering a 3kg maximum payload.  With an arm length of 350mm and minimal footprint and head clearance, the robot’s compact design allowed the engineers to locate it inside one of the workstations on an existing automatic assembly machine. Furthermore, the TH350 is extremely flexible and offers movement of ±115º and ±145º on axes one and two respectively. The installation created very little downtime; all it took was a long weekend during which the robot was interfaced, through the robot controller, to the existing line equipment.

Small, fast and easy robots for the electronics industry
This is just one example of the way Toshiba Machine and TM Robotics have responded to fears over the ease of use of industrial robots by making our own machines ever simpler to use, install and program. We have also proactively addressed the overall needs of electronics manufacture by producing smaller, more accurate and faster robots, such as our TH180, TH250T and TH350T SCARAs. We have also taken measures such as the introduction of clean room options, essential for high level electronics work, and ceiling mount models, saving valuable floor space on the production line. We have lived by the motto, smaller, faster and easier.

A literal manifestation of this maxim is the TM Robotics-developed portable SCARA starter pack. The pack can be set up in under fifteen minutes and is sufficiently easy to use that a technician will be able to write and run a programme after only an hour of tuition. It contains a TH180 mini SCARA robot, which features an arm length of 180mm, a payload of 2kg and repeatability of ±0.01mm. The robot is ideal for use in cleanroom work or electronics manufacture and as a display tool acts as a representative of the entire Toshiba Machine range. Also included is a TS1000 controller, which offers four axis simultaneous control, absolute encoders and can be programmed in SCOL, a language similar to BASIC. The unit comes complete with a teach pendant, for easy control access, and either pneumatic or electric grippers and a number of safety cubes for use in sample applications. The entire starter pack and the specially designed work cell can fit inside two carry cases, making it extremely portable.  We see the starter pack as the perfect antidote to the belief that industrial robots need to be complicated.

Easy to install automation for the electronics industry
It may well be that the best answer the European electronics industry can give to the cheaper labour costs offered in other parts of the world is this kind of easy to install automation. Not long ago I visited a factory which, as I first approached and spotted its blacked out windows, I thought was unoccupied. Thinking that what I was looking at was another empty plant; dismantled thanks to uncompetitive labour costs, I was surprised to realise that the plant was completely automated, with no human operatives at all. It occurred to me that I was looking at the most profitable future for the UK electronics industry.

Article courtesy of TM Robotics UK

The order involved the assembly of five machines for the production of mobile phone screens.

The screens are placed in a jig by the operator and the pick and place picks the screen and places them accurately onto a gasket which is indexed under the placement position by a stepper drive motor.

Once placed onto the gasket, protective labels are applied to the screens to ensure they are protected for their final assembly into the phone casing. Although a semi-automatic solution the system has greatly increased the customers throughput and placement accuracy.

Upon removing a layer of bottles the end of assembly then removes the separation tray and disposes of it through a hatch in the side of the cell. The next phase of this project involves an extension of the cell and a tool changer, upon completion of the filling cycle the capped bottle will be picked up by second tool and placed into the shipping carton and passed through a case closer.

The Kawasaki robot was chosen due to its ease of programming, its flexibility, the simple operation interface and repeatable accuracy. Line efficiencies have significantly improved since installation, so much so that the customer has now decided to invest further in Robotics & Automation.

PAK Automation have recently completed the successful installation of a Kawasaki Four Axis Palletising Robot model ZD 130.

The Kawasaki Robot in this cell is picking and placing 15kg packs from a conveyor and placing them onto one of two pallets. The cell configuration is such that the operator can enter and exit either side of the enclosure to remove one pallet while the second pallet is being built. The integrity of the safety in the cell is maintained by incorporating Sick light curtains, therefore allowing continuous free-flow of product.

Estimated line efficiencies at this site will improve by 20% when the manufacturing process is modified and the output is increased.

Part of the PAK Group, Automation & Robotics Irl exclusively incorporate Erwin Sick sensors, light curtains and bar code readers on all systems supplied. The Sick range of sensors offer security and piece of mind to employers, by incorporating Sick equipment you are guaranteed quality and many years of experience.

Linear and Multihead Weighers | Pick & Place Machines | Vertical Form/Fill/Seal Machines
Conveyor Systems| Hot Foil and Off-line and Thermal Printers | Pre-Owned Range of Equipment
Bag Sealers | Robotic Systems | Turnkey Solutions | Cartoning Machines
Auger Filling Systems | Metal Detectors | Flow Wrapping Machines | Filling Equipment