KUKA Industrial Robots - Unloading of an injection molding machine

Unloading of an injection molding machine

Starting point / Task definition

At Dynamit Nobel, linear units are increasingly being replaced by jointed-arm robots. This was also the case when the time came to automate the handling of bumpers and welding parts for the DaimlerChrysler S-class: only this kind of robot could guarantee that the bumper surfaces would remain damage-free. If any scratches were made, a smooth paint finish would no longer be possible.

Implementation / Solution

Unloading of an injection molding machine

For its Pappenheim plant, Dynamit Nobel decided in favor of a KUKA KR 150 L110 robot mounted overhead in an inverted position. As a result, this plant alone now operates eight of the nearly 50 KUKA robots used by Dynamit Nobel. The robot empties the injection molding machine and places the bumper in a transfer station. Dynamit Nobel uses this station for removing the sprue, as an intermediate buffer, and to allow for the first major shrinkage during cooling. While the bumper mentioned above remains in the station, the KR 150 L110 removes a finished bumper weighing 5830 grams from the vibration welding system and places it on a conveyor that transports it out of the cell. It then takes a lateral and an inner welding component, for the right and left sides of a bumper respectively, from the incoming conveyor system and places the components in the vibration welding device. The robot next takes the bumper, which has been trimmed of sprue in the meantime, and transfers it likewise to the vibration welding system. This welds the bumper by means of the high temperature created by the vibrations, securing the side and inner parts. In parallel with this process, the KR 150 L110 takes yet another bumper from the injection molding machine and loads it into the transfer station.

For the handling the robot uses a pneumatic gripper with different vacuum circuits. The robot controller, which communicates with the controller of the injection molding machine and with the periphery via a standard E12 interface, uses an integrated vacuum monitoring system to verify whether all the circuits are generating sufficient vacuum.

System components / Scope of supply

KUKA KR 150 L110 robot
PC-based KUKA robot controller, including control panel with familiar Windows interface
Pneumatic gripper with various vacuum circuits
Incoming and outgoing conveyor systems
Sensor systems
Transfer station
Robot programming
Commissioning

Supplied by KUKA system partner DAT Automatisierungstechnik GmbH, Pappenheim, Germany.

Results / Success

Increased productivity

Thanks to this restructuring, Dynamit Nobel now benefits from reduced personnel costs, and at the same time from considerably higher productivity based on the shorter unloading time. Furthermore, the robot offers a high carrying capacity as standard, which in the case of linear units could only be achieved by means of a special design. Jointed-arm robots also have sufficient strength to remove the injection-molded part from the machine without removal aids, even as the part shrinks in the mold.
High quality

With its excellent repeatability and sensitive handling, the robot achieves high quality.
Remarkable acceleration capacity

Due to its remarkable acceleration capacity, the KR 150 L110 achieves the cycle time required by Dynamit Nobel: 78.7 s for a complete cycle, or a throughput of 45 parts per hour.
Long reach

With its 400 mm arm extension, the robot achieves a reach of 3.5 m. Since it is suspended on a linear unit, which is moved by the robot controller as a seventh axis, its reach is expanded accordingly.
High flexibility

Jointed-arm robots are more flexible than linear units when it comes to different automation tasks, particularly if fundamental changes are involved.
Reduced maintenance requirements

Another of the robot’s advantages is that thanks to the enclosed routing of its supply lines it requires less maintenance work.
Rapid payback

Dynamit Nobel expects that the payback period for the complete new system, including the injection molding machine, will be two years and three months.

Number of report

R 229

Industry

Automotive suppliers Rubber, plastics

Application

Handling, loading and unloading Plastics processing machines Other handling operations

Product

Robots High payloads (80-270 kg) Shelf-mounted robots Controller KR C (Robot Controller)

Customer

Dynamit Nobel AG, Pappenheim, Germany



URL: http://www.kuka-robotics.com/united_kingdom/en/solutions/solutions_search/L_R229_Unloading_of_an_injection_molding_machine.htm		© KUKA Roboter GmbH All rights reserved