Motoman Robot Palletizing Recording Media
Motoman SK120 robot on a servo track palletizes product onto individual load stations.
Summary
System met or exceeded customer requirements and included adding multiple engineering enhancements during project execution. Achieved required cycle time of 18-23 seconds.
Project Challenges
- Accurately palletize 24 different product configurations at any one of 24 load/unload stations, and also handle empty pallets and slip sheets.
- Product varies in height by ± 6.35 mm (.25"), but must be palletized on edge with minimal gap between the spools. Robot program must automatically shift to accommodate product height variance.
- Maintain product labels face-up and automatically sort mixed product types into three infeed conveyor spurs accurately, based on bar code readings.
- MRC robot controller and four Yaskawa programmable controllers must perform extensive data management to identify and track product types to ensure accurate sorting and palletizing.
- Minimum operator interface during normal operation, but allow for manual intervention when needed (operator to manually enter data into the PanelMate™ Man/Machine Interface (MMI) if bar code label cannot be read).
- Aggressive cycle time - one product approximately every 20 seconds.
Motoman Robotics Solution
Motoman supplied following equipment:
- SK120 robot and MRC controller with 30-m (98-ft) programming pendant cable
- 22-m (72-ft) NuTech servo track (20-m/66-ft stroke) and carriage to hold empty pallets and slip sheets 24 CDLR conveyor load stations, each fully configurable through the MMI to handle any product type
- One powered infeed conveyor Three infeed conveyor spurs, each with bar code reader and height sensor
- Pallet and slip sheet queue station
- Two high/low speed Hytrol motorized unloading carts
- One 3-zone accumulation conveyor for full pallets
- One outfeed conveyor with 90-degree transfer to Customer supplied final pallet shrink-wrap station
- Yaskawa VS mini-drive (inverter type) motor controllers allow acceleration/deceleration of conveyors for smoother pallet transfer. Also allow high/low speeds on unloading carts
- Four Yaskawa programmable controllers; three GL135's and one GL120 were also supplied
