Integration Leads to Automation Success
Choosing the right components is only the first step in setting up an automated cell—they must also be integrated properly.
When Standby Screw Machine Products was facing quality issues related to inconsistency when hand-loading machining centers, it knew that automation was the answer. But it needed to find the right solution—one that could run a variety of parts. The company purchased a Tongtai TMV-510T machining center with a rotary pallet changer, a FANUC 200iD 7L robot and a conveyer system to build an automation cell. The next step to getting it up and running was having an integrator link the three components. The article “Moving Automation In” gives a look at this process.
Standby worked with the distributor, Absolute Machine Tools, which is also a certified FANUC integrator, to connect the system. This involved connecting the machine’s control to the conveyor and robot via Ethernet cables. Because the system uses only the machine’s control instead of computers on every component, it only requires one start button and one stop button. The system also required a specialized workholding system and grippers to accommodate the different parts the machine makes. Co-Op Tool created a custom, automated, quick-change system that could handle all the parts needed.
With the cell up and running, Standby was able to increase production and reduce loading errors, all while reducing the number of machines and employees needed. These employees are now freed up to do higher-value work, like programming. Read “Moving Automation In” to learn more.
Robots and Autonomy Correspondent
Julia Hider
Julia Hider graduated from Ohio State University in 2014 with a B.A. in journalism, and joined Gardner Business Media as an assistant editor with Modern Machine Shop in 2017. She has served as an editor on several Gardner Business Media brands, including Production Machining and Additive Manufacturing Media. She is currently a senior editor for Modern Machine Shop as covering robotics for all Gardner Business Media brands.
Related Content
-
Job Shop Discovers and Fills a Fishing Need
The promise of a product line for improved mounting of electronic fish finders led this Missouri job shop to an automated turning process.
-
Replace Repetitive Measurement With DIY Robotic Automation
After minimal training, a shop can learn how to use this robotic inspection system configured for a shopfloor application to supersede repetitive, time-consuming, high-mix gaging processes. It can then be redeployed for another application somewhere else in the facility.
-
Automation Idea for Halloween?
Maybe not. But, the candy-throwing robots at MetalQuest’s Nebraska facility do enable the contract machine shop to stand out at career fairs and similar events.
