Industrial automation solution provider Fanuc has partnered with robotics integrator RoboPod to launch a turnkey machine-tending cell for its RoboDrill vertical machining centres.
The system, called iTend, is aimed specifically at subcontract manufacturers.
At 850mm x 2500mm, it comprises a Fanuc M-10iD robot that uses bespoke tooling to automatically take workpieces from a magazine stacking unit and load the machining centre, before restoring the completed parts from the magazine tray once machined.
The iTend’s magazine stacking unit can store up to nine 600mm x 400mm trays, depending on workpiece height.
Trays are available in three different heights: 75mm, 120mm and 150mm, with the iTend magazine able to accommodate, nine, six and four trays respectively.
Both the robot and magazine unit are powered by Fanuc servo motors for “fast, repeatable performance”.
According to Fanuc, iTend’s low-footprint is enabled by the fact that the robot is contained within the cell’s casing, which means no peripheral guarding or fencing is required.
It reportedly also takes up “much less floorspace than comparable systems”, which employ laser scanners to detect operator presence, and “avoids any slow-down in operation”, which can occur once a laser detection system has been triggered.
As such, the iTend has been designed to improve productivity through unmanned running times, which can be extended up to 36 hours depending on the volume of products and the complexity of the machine programme.
An additional feature is Fanuc’s iRVision 2D vision sensor, which is mounted above the parts and used to identify and confirm the correct workpiece prior to processing, with the robot then loading the machine tool.
Once complete, the robot unloads the part and restores it to the tray or outfeed chute.
It is then loaded back into the magazine stacker, and the integrated drive mechanism indexes the stack to the next height to allow the following cycle to start.
The robot, iRVision 2D system and servo drives are all controlled via Fanuc’s intelligent robot teach pendant.
Richard Evans, CEO of RoboPod, said: “Utilising the Fanuc intelligent product toolbox to design and build a solution that the company itself can market to its wide customer audience has been a really good exercise for us.
“We have only recently started using Fanuc products, but have already seen the major benefits they bring over other suppliers.
“Development of solutions that fulfil the ever-increasing demands of UK manufacturers is made much easier when we are able to pull on the built-in cost-effective integrated intelligence that Fanuc offers.”
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