Wanted: flexibility and reach
Future-oriented facility with KUKA robot
Various molds are currently in use at the facility for the plastic bumper system. For the center part of the bumper bracket, the KUKA shelf-mounted robot first picks up the bushings from the feeding station with the aid of a gripper and moves to the waiting position between the machine tie-bars while the component is being produced in the injection molding machine. The machine opens and the robot inserts the bushings into the mold on the nozzle side. Then it turns its gripper 90 degrees in order to pick up the ejected plastic part.
Once the robot has dynamically withdrawn from the machine, the sprue can be trimmed and the component can be shaped into various designs. The robot then places the part into a cooling device where the plastic parts are held in the correct position to prevent shrinkage. Furthermore, all common processes are integrated into the future-oriented facility, from the bushing magazine to the trimming process to flame-machining of the injection moldings. All subsequent steps needed to produce the plastic parts can also be performed by the KUKA shelf-mounted robot during non-productive machine time.
