CHALLENGE
Galvanic surface treatments such as zinc plating, anodising, nickel plating, heat treatments and non-stick coatings involve a very careful and delicate process that is usually performed by specialised personnel in many of the process steps.
TASK
A large Italian company, which deals with different galvanic surface treatments on behalf of third parties, requested to automate the first part of the production process with the aim of reducing labour input.
The entire preparation phase of the components to be treated is currently carried out by personnel who mount the components to be treated on supports (both racks and rods). This is a delicate phase, requiring significant time and human resources. Also because we are dealing with processing with different characteristics of the components.
The second objective is to increase production, reducing production cycle times.
SOLUTION
We have proposed different solutions according to the needs of each company in the group that handles different processes and products. The solutions make use of anthropomorphic robots for servicing.
Below are those proposed:
a turnkey solution of a high-productivity robot line for tooling titanium frame components for anodising treatment that will guarantee a productivity of at least 25,000 pieces/day;
a robotic platform with different servo modules designed ad hoc for each type of product to be treated. To optimise time, it was decided to handle the products in a multiple manner through the use of 2 robotic arms on a seventh axis. This solution also includes an artificial vision system to control the insertion positions and supervise the cycle to re-adjust the trajectory and avoid continuous production stops;
a medium-productivity mobile robot cell using a robot to automate the handling phase of the rods, which will leave only the loading and unloading phase to the operator.
The platform uses our K-VISION software.
The use of robot systems for product handling makes it possible to
1.
reduce and/or replace the repetitive and alienating manual work of operators;
2.
eliminate manual handling of heavy loads
3.
speed up production and improve it by eliminating human errors;
4.
minimise cycle time and run the process continuously;
5.
optimise work spaces.
As a result of the tests carried out during the design phase, results were obtained in terms of increased productivity in comparison with the current one.
Increased productivity
For one of the product lines, the manual operation time went from 8.2 seconds to 2 seconds if the cycle is performed with the robot. In terms of productivity, this translates into 14000 pieces/8h compared to the previous 4000 pieces/8h.
Not to mention that the robot can be kept running for longer hours and thus eliminates downtime.
Less waste
The precision of the robot reduces the percentage of waste and rework.
Bando INAIL
The project will also benefit from the Bando Inail 2024 for investments in new equipment and machinery that reduce the manual movement of loads.
The planned solutions are perfectly in line with the indications of the non-repayable grant, allowing the staff to no longer have to deal with a phase of production that poses a major health risk to workers.
Take action now
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Mail: info@kablator.com – Tel: +39 331 3466711
