FORMING AND FABRICATING AUTOMATION
3.1: Press-Tending Robots Robotic Press Tending: Easier Integration D eciding to bring robots into stamping and related workcell operations? Advancements bring huge reductions in time and money spent planning, installing and programming.
press-line assets,” he says. “Robots can adapt easily to a range of production variations such as double, triple or quadruple picks-and-drops, increased dis- tance between parts during press-to-press transfer, or the extraction of semifinished parts prior to the last press in a line.” Robots also provide an ideal solution for handling of smaller parts―traditionally not associated with press automation. “Applications include back covers for flat-panel televisions, air-conditioner components and other parts often produced on smaller press lines,” says Roda. “Instead of larger automotive panels produced at line speeds of 10 to 14 strokes/min., these parts move at 18 to 20 strokes/min. or faster, and robots readily handle those types of parts and line speeds.”
Long the purview of automotive OEMs and Tier Ones, robotic press tending has filtered to lower-tier suppliers not only in au - tomotive, but across sectors including appliance and general industrial. Why? As Toni Roda, global product manager-press automation for ABB points out, the flexible robots of today bet - ter interact with presses and other machinery, offer reliability in harsh environments, and can be designed, integrated, pro- grammed and operated more quickly and at lower cost. We’ll detail all of that, but deciding when and where to incorporate ro- bots for tending presses and workcells deserves an initial look. The following cases, according to Roda, call for consideration of robotic machine tending: • An existing press line operating in manual mode, with oper- ators loading and unloading presses. “Switching to automated press tending,” Roda says, “greatly impacts not only productivity, but operator safety as well. When faced with stringent surface requirements, robots can provide gentler handling that protects part finishes.”
Today’s software programs and graphical interfaces more quickly and easily integrate robots into press-line and related workcell applications, and also help answer skilled-labor challenges.
• Aging automation on an existing press line. • A new press line.
Typical layout restrictions when automating existing lines relate to long interpress distances or narrow die clearances, according to Roda. “In such cases, the use of external linear or rotational ad- ditional-axis robots and the selection of the right end-of-arm tooling play key roles in obtaining top performance of installed
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