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URC Valve Stem Robot Loading
This cell handles a family of valve stems for
Mueller Company. The stems are used in a variety of commercial
water valves.
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
two cells.
A quick return on investment was realized as
existing Warner-Swazey, Sajo and Mori-Seiki machine tools were
integrated by URC Automation into the robot cell.
Using refurbished robots considerably decreased
the total cost of the system by about $160K.
While refurbished robots aren't a good fit every
time, they can be an outstanding value on some robot loading
applications.
This system was implemented in 1998 and is still
running 24/7 in 2007. It has paid for itself many times over.
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URC Automation
integrated five existing machine tools with two refurbished
FANUC robots for a three operation machining application.
An existing
cutoff robot cell fed raw parts into a laser inspection
system. Robot #1 picked up the raw part from this
station
The robots have a
dual gripper configuration allowing them to extract a
finished part and load a raw part at each machine tool.
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| A mechanical
collision sensor protects the machine tools and robot
grippers from damage during setup and operations. Robot
#1 exchanges raw parts at one of two Warner -Swazey machine
tools. One or both of the Warner-Swazey's can be in
operation.
URC Automation retrofitted the existing machine tools
with controls to communicate and be controlled by the
robots. |
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After starting
the cycle at the Warner-Swazey, robot #1 places the part at
a transfer station between the two cells.
Robot #1 communicates to robot #2 that
the part is ready for pickup.
Robot #2 picks up the part and
proceeds to a Sajo milling machine. |
| Robot #2
exchanges parts at the Sajo milling machine. The Sajo
was controlled by relay logic and electrical prints did not
exist for this machine. URC
Automation mapped out the controls for the Sajo and added
controls for robot communication and control. |
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Robot #2 moves
over to a Mori-Seiki threading machine and exchanges parts.
A handle was placed on the robot to reset a manual threader.
After exchanging parts, robot #2 drops
the finished part into a hopper. Total cycle time from
start to finish is 44 seconds per part. This system
had a 50% increase in productivity over manual
operations.
Total turn-key cost with five
machine tool integration, two refurbished robots and tooling
was approximately $180K. |
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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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