8 Cavity Loading Fixture Ideas

[hobda1ad]

I'm getting a new insert molded 8 Cavity tool in that's going to replace our current 4 cavity tool. Because this tool is such a high volume job (Currently running 24/7 to keep up with demand) Its important to try and keep loading time down.

In order to get the most out of the 8 cavity tool we need to build a fixture to load all 8 cavities at once. I've already looked into automation and because the Insert has such a large variation in quality (uncontrollable) it will be difficult to use a robot and a bowl feeder.

Does anyone have any experience with assembly arms? I'm looking for something that can be mounted above the platen where a robot would mount and I can mount some sort of plate shaped fixture. The machine is a 2016 Engel if that makes a difference.

The Ideal Situation would be:
- Operator loads Inserts onto fixture
- Once machine opens operator opens the gate
- Operator swings fixture into position
- Inserts all 8 Inserts at once
- Operator retracts arm
- Operator Loads Inserts onto fixture
Repeat (2000 times a day.)

[rickbatey]

If your inserts vary so much, NO type of mechanism is going to make this better. If it's an Engel use their robot. Repeatable and robust. Cheaper would be a six-axis robot.
But you still haven't fixed the inserts. If you give your insert supplier all the tolerance he wants you'll never sleep well at night or be successful with doubling the cavities. You'd be better off with another four cavity mold and start one and pull the other to PM/repair.
There are tooling design ls that can alleviate the insert variance but only to a degree. Loose inserts lead to poor quality parts!
Rick.

[rickbatey]

BTW old Husky machines had mechanical arms driven by the mold open/close stroke to catch parts. This could be used to insert as long as ejection is completed prior and o full open stroke. But loose inserts will still rear its ugly head.
Rick

[hobda1ad]

Unfortunately our insert are coming from the company we supply the parts to. we've gone round and round with them and because they are die cast inserts they give themselves all the tolerance. The inserts are zinc die cast and fortunately we rarely have issues with the fitment of the inserts, the majority of the issues we face is excess material stuck in a cavity of the insert. In an automated situation this could cause our fixture not to pick up an insert and not load it, causing the tool to shoot missing an insert and causing a mess. They built a new 8 cavity tool also so quality issues may dissipate.

We currently utilize Viper 6's and an epic on our other engel's and I was thinking about the possibilities of using it for this process also, However it would require having an operator load the inserts onto a fixture and somehow getting the fixture plate onto a loading rack for the robot to pick up (Causing an Economies of Scale situation) I would also believe its a safety hazard to mix operators with automated equipment.

[iautry1973]

I was helping work on a project at the last place for a robot to pick up an inlay that the operator would load into a fixture. The operator loaded it on the fixture outside of the robot cage and then hit two buttons to allow the slide to go into the robot cage. The robot waited for a signal from the table to say it was there. Once the robot had the inlay it then lifted up and sent a signal to the table to return to the loading position. Not sure if something like that would help with the safety concerns.

[rickbatey]

Ok you should look at linear feed tracks with servo motors. You can buy two of them and run them opposite directions of one another. When loaded and actuated the loaded one moves into the enclosure and the empty one out. In the robot program you use a common wait position, then place an IF statement with true false causing it to branch into one of two parallel branches; you make the moves to pick from that table. I'll look up the one I used for a backup feeder on one of our jobs. The controller programming is pretty easy with a laptop.
Rick.

[JayDub]

I would also believe its a safety hazard to mix operators with automated equipment.

Common situation. Use a light curtain with enable/disable capability to ensure robot and operator are not occupying the same space at the same time. Add a red light/green light indicator so the operator knows when it's safe. If the operators still can't keep their fingers out of the cookie jar, add a pair of momentary switches so you know exactly where their hands are.

[rickbatey]

The linear feeder must enter the robot work area so there's no way the operator is struck by the robot. If you try integrate this yourself you'll not get the level of safety you want using light curtains and a robot not built by the OEM for that purpose. The reason being you will have to add the command wait for input to be on/off at EVERY step near the operator. That results in a MUCH longer cycle time. If the OEM adore the integration they can stop/pause at any time the light curtain is broken.
I didn't get to look up the linear motion supplier as our first granddaughter was born today!!
Rick.

[rickbatey]

Macro Dynamics is the linear feeder supplier I've used in the past.
Rick.