KUKA robot automates handling at injection molding machine

Moving away from disposable products and towards sustainable consumption. This is the goal that students at University of Applied Sciences Reutlingen set themselves as part of a project. They were looking for an alternative to disposable plastic cutlery at trade fairs. Reusable cutlery made of high-performance plastic is the result, developed under the stewardship of Prof. Dr. Steffen Ritter. The cutlery meets all of the requirements of the food industry and is both multi-functional and sustainable. The manufacturing process at Gindele GmbH, located near the southern German city of Pforzheim, is implemented using a robot cell for injection molding.

What started out as a university project has developed into a success story. The demand for reusable cutlery is increasing and quantities need to rise. “With complex products and high quantities such as these, it is essential that production processes are automated,” says Steffen Ritter. This is why the University of Applied Sciences Reutlingen, Gindele GmbH, robomotion GmbH and KUKA have joined forces – and demonstrate how the “flexobot” cell works in the real-life production environment of the injection molding company.

Matthias Gindele is very satisfied with the manufacturing results: “With the robot cell for injection molding, we have managed to achieve impressive vertical integration downstream of the machining activities of the injection molding machine. This example demonstrates how we can complete highly complex orders in a fully automated manner.” In saying this, Gindele is also referring to versatility, because, after all, it is possible to use the robot cell for different projects. The flexobot automation solution is also ideally suited for smaller production volumes.