Pick and place automation is pushing the limit of robotics technology. These devices are now a high grade robotics technology that is at the pinnacle of the packaging industry. As a standard for robotics technology in packaging the pick and place automation solution is a high speed work cell that can do all the right tasks to get the packaging job done right and fulfill the demands made of robotics technology. The features of this workhorse are locating the products to be picked at various locations on a moving conveyor belt,
To build a pick and place work station for your production line, it is necessary to perform certain steps to get the best results and achieve the goals of reducing cost and increasing production rates. Taking these steps in the defined order and covering the necessary subjects in order will yield an optimized pick and place work station as a result. The first step should be the drafting of an accurate specification for the work station. The pick and place automation can be used for many different scenarios quite effectively. Robotics technology has afforded it sweeping abilities. It is important to define all the configurations of product sizes and shapes that could be “picked” by this work station during this phase.
Using all the variation of product sizes and shapes that have been defined, will allow for the optimization of the pick and place cycle and the robotics technology needed. The object here is to have the robotic to move as little as possible to perform the tasks that are required of it. Most pick and place operations are performed in a half a second or less. The movement of the pick and place robotic usually makes up about 80 per cent of the time that is required for one cycle. It is very straightforward, The less the robotic has to move to get the job done, the shorted will be the cycle time, and the faster the entire operation will be completed.
True optimization of cycle time will come when the pick and place automation can move without pause from one cycle to the next. Further optimization of the work cell can occur when the pick and place robotic is situated in such a way as to allow for the “picking” and “placing” of the product accurately. The robotic should be situated so that there is no extra movement required because the robot and the pick or place location are at different levels. It is important to optimize the payload that the pick and place will carry. Obviously the lighter the payload, the faster the robotic can move. In work station set up the robot must be anchored down so that the forces created by starting and stopping will not cause inadvertent release of the product being moved. To accelerate or decelerate can cause up to 12 times the force of gravity, so id the robot is not well grounded there could be damage to the product or robot or both.
Vacuum and mechanical are the two types of gripping devices used for transporting products to their destination. The vacuum type is much more efficient in that it is faster because it weighs less, and it has no moving parts that would require maintenance. Mechanical grippers can hold a product more firmly and has very specific positioning for the accurate delivery of products where they are expected. These mechanical types are slower than the vacuum types.
The robot model that is used to move the gripping device is an important part of the work cell. There are some definite design considerations that need to be addressed when deciding which robotic model to employ. Previously the size and shapes of products to be handled by this automation were defined. Now those definitions can be used to fill in the characteristics that need to be in place for a correct robotic selection. A robotic that will be able to handle the range of sizes and shapes of products that are to come through this work cell must be selected. The payload for all these products, which is the weight of the product and the tool, must be taken into consideration. The work envelope and the number of degrees of freedom must be adequate to perform all the pick and place activities that will be required. The cycle rate for the selected model must be enough to produce the throughput that is required for the production jobs that will be done.
Most of these robots consist of four-axis delta robotics that are overhead mounted so that the work area can be easily accessed by the mechanism. This type of robot gives high speed flexibility, with fast cycle times, and high productivity. This robot would normally be accompanied by a vision system that would be able to transfer data to the controller at such a rate as to keep the robot working continuously. Throughput of products from a conveyor system, adequate lighting, and inspection that would not allow defects to pass would be part of an optimum work station.
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