Development of a transportation system in cooperation with robot specialist RobWelding

Specialty machine meets robot!

Robots are becoming increasingly more important in manufacturing and process automation. This is obvious, considering the many advantages robots offer, including a faster manufacturing process and constant quality. Optimal automation of a manufacturing process is possible thanks to the deployment of a specialty machine.

The cooperation between SSEB and robot specialist RobWelding for customer Priema is a good example. Priema deployed the expertise of both parties for the production automation of one of its products: a part of an automotive armrest.

The request: automate the process to transport the part from the press, and place it, sorted, in a crate. Until now, this process was done manually; parts were placed on a conveyor belt, manually taken off and placed in crates to be sent to the customer.

How did we automate this process?
RobWelding, overall supplier in the field of (welding) robots, developed a robotic installation to place the parts in the crates. A specialty machine was required to ensure that the parts were presented from the press to the robot in the right way. SSEB was asked to develop this specialty machine. It was extremely important that the parts were precisely positioned on the conveyor belt, such that the robot could grab them and place them on the pallet.

Interaction between specialty machine and robot
In addition, we also had to take into account that three different part for the automotive armrest were involved. The machine had to be suited for all these three parts. What’s more, the design also had to be adaptable to possible future different presses or extra parts. In other words: the specialty machine had to flexibly deployable.

SSEB developed a specialty machine, taking into account these conditions. From the press, the parts are placed on a conveyor belt and fed into the machine. Before operation, the machine is adjusted for the specific parts involved, such that the correct position on the belt can be determined. This is done using sensors, resulting in precise positioning.

When the correct position has been determined, the part moves to the area where the robots grab them to be placed in crates. Eight parts can be positioned and placed in the crate simultaneously. This is a good example of how robots and specialty machines enforce each other when it comes to manufacturing and process automation.

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