Assembly Automation – Parts Load and Unload

A common Assembly Automation opportunity to reduce labor content is found in machine load and unload applications.?The physical embodiment of the target system is typically a linear or rotary automated system that indexes from station to station and while each station performs some operation on a fixtured part, the operator manually unloads a completed assembly and loads a part for the next assembly.?

In addition, the operator usually prompts the next cycle via a palm switch or other input to assure the safe indexing of the system.

These opportunities may be found in legacy systems that are common throughout many manufacturing plants or they may be a recently built system which maintained this operational form factor from older, traditional designs.?In either case, the labor required to perform this operation is costly, typically lower skilled and often prone to high turnover, leading to productivity disruptions.

Automating parts feeding applications for a range of parts, in a particular family of parts, with subtle dimensional differences is always challenging and while the tooling changeover in the main automated system being fed is commonly and quickly changed using SMED (Single-Minute Exchange of Dies) techniques, the parts feeder has to also be designed with the same flexibility and ease of setup from part number to part number. This challenge is usually one of the reasons that the parts load and/or unload process has remained manual.

However, if we look closely and depending on the parts geometry and form factor, it's often possible to identify a couple of parameters that easily scale and designing a custom feeder to be quickly adjustable to these parameters can result in cost effective and robust parts feeders which are easily re-configured from part number to part number. When done well, the changeover is simple and, in some cases, can itself be automated, negating the need to use costly robotic solutions with complex vision systems or other intelligent algorithm requirements in automating this load/unload operation, which themselves may present other limitations for a particular application.

In the broad category of automated machine tending applications, these types of custom designs find applications in feeding:

1)?????Raw stock loading/machined part unloading into/out of a machining system,

(CNC Mills and Lathes),

2)?????Parts loading into a custom assembly system,

?3) Parts presentation into a processing step such as: cut to length, cleaning, finishing, welding, brazing, heat sealing, die cutting, pressing, etc. systems.?

4) End of line, manual packaging operations.

5) Many other operations, whether custom or standard machinery.

One can see many examples of legacy assembly operations on the manufacturing floor that involve an operator manually tending a machine, (loading and unloading), and in these cases, stand alone, automated feeding systems can significantly reduce labor input while also smoothing cycle times through consistency and repeatability, while operator safety is improved in these repetitive operations.

(The visual cue that this automation opportunity exists on the manufacturing floor is an operator standing in front of a machine or process, loading and perhaps unloading finished assemblies.)

Depending on the stability of product volumes, albeit with varying part numbers, many of these applications are often solved using robotic arms with custom EOATs, (cobots), which may or may not be the most cost effective or optimum approach. This depends on many factors but largely on the associated ROI within the machine cycle times involved and the duty cycle of the operation.

(A long processing cycle time means that the operator or the feeding system is idle during that time so all things being equal, it's a comparative analysis. A short cycle time may be beyond the speed limitations of a robot, without extensive guarding and/or significant footprint in order to be economically justifiable.)

At all times, the objective is for the underlying system being tended, to be capable of performing it's function rather than waiting.

"Making Chips", as it's referred to in the shop.

If the product form factor is common, not necessarily identical, across a product family and the machine or process cycle time is comparatively short(er) or long(er), it is worth investigating the design of a custom electro-pneumatic-mechanical feeder for the load-unload function.?The benefits include:

1.?????Lower technology support requirement

2.?????Reduced operator and maintenance training

Most important a custom designed system has no limitations in payload, speed, environmental conditions or the physical form factor to achieve the desired transfer function.

By definition, a custom design is built to these requirements.

If it's a multi station requirement, a single operator may assume the role of supporting multiple load/unload systems by loading bulk parts rather than feeding individual components into a single machine and being alerted to do so through visual signals from the auto-load-unload system(s).

Finally, by designing these custom systems to be portable, (on wheels with docking features), it is also possible to have a common platform that can be deployed from machine to machine within the framework of the common product form factors. (It's not unlikely that a particular process has several systems operating on 2 or even 3 shifts with the attendant high labor requirements.)

In Summary:

Manual Machine Load-Unload and Feeding operations exist in many legacy and even newer production lines and the deployment of robotic solutions is often a justifiable approach to automating this operation. However, there are many more applications when either the cycle times are too short or too long, (a relative measure), where a custom designed system will be both more cost effective and more importantly, designed exactly to the application without paying for the excess functionality/flexibility provided by a robot which is not required for the particular application.

In addition, the generally simpler design of a custom electro-pneumatic-mechanical solution leads to lower technology support and personnel training requirements. This is especially important in SME operations that don't necessarily have the required technical and other skills resources in-house but can still significantly benefit and improve productivity while reducing labor content through

“low tech” load - unload automation.

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