09-Feb-17 A Sepro 6X-90L 6-axis articulated-arm robot and a Sepro 5X-15 5-axis Cartesian beam robot are collaborating in a live demonstration of insert loading and part removal taking place in the Sepro America booth at Plastec West 2017. The Company’s new S5 3-axis-servo sprue picker is also operating in the booth. In the demonstration cell, the two robots take turns picking two parts from a simulated injection mold, placing them on a conveyor and then picking them off the other end of the conveyor and placing them back on the “mold” cores. It illustrates capabilities like insert pick-up and placement, part removal and accurate positioning for post-mold operations.
“For years we have been saying that robots should be expected to do much more than simply replacing a machine operator for part removal,” says Jim Healy, Vice President, Sales & Marketing. “Today, as interest in Industry 4.0 grows, more and more of our customers are discovering that they can, in fact, improve productivity and make added-value parts, by harnessing the power of automation.”
A key component is Sepro’s proprietary Visual control platform. Developed specifically for plastics injection molding, the control can be customized to control the simplest sprue picker or the most advanced 3-, 5- or 6-axis robots. It can control one robot or an entire automation cell, including robots and pre- and post-mold peripheral equipment like insert feeders, vision systems, assembly and palletizing equipment. Several different levels of integration with one or more molding machines are available. These include full integration with the IMM control. When fully integrated, the robot application program runs in the IMM control and all application data, including robot programming and possibly other auxiliary equipment like mold temperature controls, are filed in one place in the IMM control memory.
New S5 Picker: Plastec West 2017 marks the North American debut of Sepro’s newest sprue picker. The S5 Picker is a fast and versatile beam-mounted Cartesian sprue picker with 3 servo-driven axes. Based on the same basic mechanical design as the Sepro Success range of economical, general-purpose robots, the S5 comes standard with a simple sprue gripper but it can be supplied optionally with an R1 wrist rotation and can be fitted with simple end-of-arm tooling. The standard picker operates entirely inside the IMM footprint. An optional configuration increases the horizontal stroke from 23.6 in. (600 mm) to 39.4 in (1000 mm) so it can be used to evacuate sprues or small parts outside the IMM
At the show, the picker operating space is protected by a laser light curtain. If a person approaches the robot while it is operating, the sensors will signal the Sepro control, which will first slow the robot and eventually stop its motion entirely to prevent operator injury or damage to the equipment.
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