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URC Glass Sheet Robot Loading
This cell handled a family of optical glass
sheets up to 4' x 8' and 0.4 inches thick.
The glass is used in various products such as
overhead projectors and lenses.
At cell startup, the robot moved to each rack
loading station and used an ultra-sonic distance sensor to determine
the proper set-down position for the glass.
This way the racks could have partial product
loads on them. Each rack could have a different glass size and
interleave paper or plain glass.
Total cycle time to bottom pick (longest
distance) a glass sheet, get interleave paper and palletize the
sheet on a rack was 17 seconds.
URC Automation designed the cell, robot tooling,
controls, fixtures, and software.
URC Automation provided and installed the
equipment, programmed the parts and provided on-site training for
the cell.
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URC Automation
designed and built this glass handling cell for optical
quality glass sheets.
The robot tool
could pick on the top or bottom of a float conveyor.
The robot tool
had retractable arms for picking interleave paper after
picking the glass.
Here the robot is
ready to top-pick a sheet of glass. |
| The robot
picks the glass off of the float conveyor here. An
Allen-Bradley PLC cell controller communicated the glass
size and thickness for each sheet to the robot.
Six vacuum cups in 3 separate zones provided the proper
gripping force. |
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If the glass
required interleave paper (to prevent scratching the glass
surface), the robot would move over to the URC Automation
designed paper feeder. Sensor
controlled pneumatic rollers feed the paper out straight to
a pre-determined cut distance. Vacuum holds the paper
in place while the robot grasps it. A knife on a
rodless cylinder cuts the paper off the roll. |
| The glass
sheet with the interleave paper is then palletized on one of
three racks. The racks are accessible with a
fork-truck and radio controlled overhead door. Safety
mats and doors prevent personnel from entering the cell
This picture shows how the robot can
pick underneath the float conveyor. The robot needed
to be able to top or bottom pick the glass based on which
side had the sputtered optical coating. |
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Here the robot
moves through the float conveyor.
Total new turn-key cost today with
process integration, one robot, paper feeder and robot
tooling would be approximately $190K.
The customer supplied the float
conveyor and Allen-Bradley PLC controls. |
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Robot Loading Benefits |
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Labor Reduction and Reallocation
Lower cycle time, 25% to 400%
Integrate existing machine tools, saving more
money
Throughput and Yield Improvement
Reduce Stress Injuries
Injury Avoidance and Safety
ROI's 12 - 18 months
Quality Improvement
Predictable Production
Flexibility
Material Savings
Reliability and Downtime Reduction
Great for dull, dirty and dangerous jobs
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