Robotics for Plastics Manufacturing Tutorial

Robotics Industries Association

February 2008

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Presentation Overview

• Robotic Misconceptions
• “When” To Incorporate Robotics
• Robotic Plastics Opportunity
• Robotics for Plastics: Features & Benefits
• Application Examples
• Getting Started: How to Develop an RFQ
• List of Vendors and Additional Resources

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Robotic Misconceptions

• If you’re trying to improve your plastics process, don’t be

misled by these old misconceptions about robot
reliability, complexity and costs.
– Robotics technology is complex
– Robotics requires higher skilled operators and support personnel
– Robotic solutions are unreliable
– Robotic solutions are expensive

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“When” to Use Robotics

• Operator Ergonomics & Safety Concerns

• Reduce Labor Costs
• Increase Throughput
• Improve Product/Process Quality & Consistency
• Part/Product Requires Secondary Operations
• Complex Parts

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Robotic Plastics Opportunity

• Properly integrated, today’s reliable robots offer

tremendous opportunities for meeting the challenges of
today’s plastics manufacturing.

• In addition, companies are commanding stringent

operational conditions for 24/7 operations while still
necessitating high reliability, low maintenance, flexibility
and quick changeover between products.

• Robotic solutions are now competitively priced

commodity products yielding superior performance,
reliability and versatility.

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Robotic Plastics Opportunity

• Robotics have been successfully implemented for many areas of

plastics manufacturing including:
– Part insertion/extraction
– Degating
– Trimming
– Cutting
– Secondary Part Operations
• Gate cutting
• Insertion of clips (metal or plastic)
• Loading of inserts
• Quality control checks
– Post Secondary Operations
• Assembly
• Part Making
• Inspection
• Packing
• Palletizing

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Robotics Plastics Opportunity

• Key process and quality benefits of robotics over traditional

manufacturing automation include:
– Process flexibility
– Large spherical working envelope
– High speed precise motion
– Ability to work between (2) presses simultaneously
– Optimum Part Handling
– Minimize Damage To Product
– Minimize Failure Opportunities
– Minimize Operator Intervention
– Minimal Product or Part Change Over

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Robotics Plastics Opportunity

• Key operational benefits of robotics over traditional

manufacturing automation include:
– Higher Reliability
– Greater Flexibility & Versatility
– Quicker Changeover
– Lower Maintenance
– Minimum Footprint Solutions
– Greater Control & Software Capabilities
– Common Technology Solution Across Plant Applications
– Ease for Upgrade or Redeployment
– Environment Compatibility
– Added value to the process with Secondary Operations
– Greater Throughput
– Minimize Risk

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Robotic Plastics: Features & Benefits

• Higher Reliability
– Robots (including controller) prove well over 70,000
MTBF [Mean Time Between Failure].
– Addition of automatic tool changer eliminates operator
removal, handling, storing and assembly of tooling.
– Utilizing articulated robots (i.e. 6-axis) for optimum
product handling, processing and work envelope.

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Robotic Plastics: Features & Benefits

• Greater Flexibility & Versatility

– Robotics can be configured to optimize the
automation and manufacturing process.
– Examples of Robot Flexibility & Versatility
• Optimum footprint and orientation
• Ability to access more than one machine/process
• Flexible to Handle More Than Just “Part”
• Perform secondary operations

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Robotic Plastics: Features & Benefits

• Quicker Changeover
– Product changeover can be minimized or even
eliminated with the use of Tool Changers.
– Automatic tool changers are available for all ranges of
robots and payloads.
– Six axis robot provides the ultimate flexibility for
changing between parts with 6-degree’s of freedom
programming.

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Robotic Plastics: Features & Benefits

• Maintenance
– When using the robot to simplify the system design
and operation, the total number of electrical and
mechanical components to maintain/repair in the
system can be significantly reduced.
– Robots are virtually maintenance free requiring only
greasing every 6 months to 3 years and changing of
batteries annually.
– Tool Changers increase reliability by eliminating
operator intervention of the tool, system and
changeover procedure.

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Robotic Plastics: Features & Benefits

• Greater Layout Flexibility

– Robots provide for design freedom to configure a
system to optimize space and operations.

Strength: Upward Reach Strength: Downward Reach

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Robotic Plastics: Features & Benefits

• Greater Layout Flexibility

– Articulated robots provide the ability to mount in
several orientations.

Floor Inverted/ Wall Shelf

Ceiling

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Robotic Plastics: Features & Benefits

• Greater Layout Flexibility

– On Machine: Operator Side

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Robotic Plastics: Features & Benefits

• Greater Layout Flexibility

– On Machine: Non-Operator Side

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Robotic Plastics: Features & Benefits

• Greater Layout Flexibility

– On Floor: Non-Operator Side

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Robotic Plastics: Features & Benefits

• Greater Layout Flexibility

– Special Positions: Inverted

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Robotic Plastics: Features & Benefits

• Greater Layout Flexibility

– Special Positions: Shelf

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Robotic Plastics: Features & Benefits

• Greater Layout Flexibility

– Special Positions: Rail/Gantry

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Robotic Plastics: Features & Benefits

• Greater Layout Flexibility

– Robots can move freely in multiple directions. When
working with complex parts, the articulated robot can
rotate freely in multiple orientations.

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Robotic Plastics: Features & Benefits

• Greater Layout Flexibility

– Robots can demold parts either with force (forced
removal from negative mold) or delicately (demolding
from core).

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Robotic Plastics: Features & Benefits

• Greater Layout Flexibility

– Robots are sealed and contain internally-located
guide mechanisms and cables making it better suited
for clean room applications

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Robotic Plastics: Features & Benefits

• Control & Software

– Robots control is highly advanced taking advantage of the latest in
safety, communication, HMI, web interface, simulation, on-line
documentation, integrated vision/intelligent sensors and application
specific software.
– Robots controllers can be used to control the entire plastics solution
including I/O, HMI’s and additional servo devices such as collators and
metering conveyors.
– “Collision” Guard Software Protects Robot, Tooling and Product.
– “Soft Float” Software allows X-Y “Float” for holding part during the
injection process.
– Remote connectivity provides remote support capability.

• Common Technology Solution Across Plant Applications

– Same robot/controller or robot family can be used for other
manufacturing, packaging and palletizing within the plant operation.

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Robotic Plastics: Features & Benefits

• Ease for Upgrade or Redeployment

– Upgrading for new products/processes is minimized.
Typically, changes are limited to robot tooling and
programming.
– Robots can be redeployed for new applications if
product/processes become obsolete or are moved to
another facility.

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Robotic Plastics: Features & Benefits

• Environmental Compatibility
– Robots are proven for most any application and
environment.
• Clean Room
• Cold
• Wet
• Dusty
• Heavy
• Hot
• Noisy

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Getting Started: Developing an RFQ

• Plastics automation analysis requires a detailed

functional requirement analysis to develop an RFQ
[Request for Quotation].

• It is critical that all products, product presentations,

throughput rates, plant layouts and process details be
included in the RFQ.

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Getting Started: Developing an RFQ

• RFQ Considerations
– What is your process?
• Machine unload
• Insert loading and machine unloading
– What is size/tonnage of your IMM?
• Top or Side access?
• Can robot be machine mounted, or is separate frame required ?
– What secondary processes may need to be performed?
• Deflashing, Degating, Assembly, Box/Tray loading or Vision Inspection
– What is size weight?
– Does part have class A Surface?
– Machine Access/Clearance?
• What is floor space access around machine ?
• What overhead clearance exists above machine ?

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Application Examples

• High Speed Loading/Unloading of IMM

– Reduced mold open times and higher productivity.
– Increased robot accuracy and inherent rigidity means
unparalleled speed and reliability.
– New slimmer robot forearm minimizes mold open time.
– Typical die interrupt times of just 0.59 seconds can be
consistently achieved.

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Application Examples

• Insert Loading of Vertical Molding Machines

– Accurate parts placement into molds.
– Reduced cycle times over manual part handling solutions.
– Supports single and multi-cavity mold configurations.
– Inline inspection can be integrated for improved quality.
– Integration of Flexible Feeding allows for fast change over times.

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Application Examples

• Two Shot Molding

– Easily transfer and manipulate finished parts for secondary
molding and over-molding tasks.
– Robots offer zero settling time when transferring parts from one
mold chamber to another.

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Application Examples

• In Mold Decoration & Labeling

– Labels for in mold decoration can be positioned accurately inside
the molds with a repeatability of ± 0.02 mm.
– Specially designed double sided gripping mechanisms on the
robot arm can be used for multiple label placement.
– Molds featuring 4 or even 8 cavities can be filled, each with a
different decorative label if required.

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Application Examples

• Insert Loading
– Any shape, size and quantity of insert can readily be loaded into
the mold by robots.
– Six-axis articulation provides precision placement and minimum
mold opening time.
– Examples of products utilizing Inserts:
• Medical Devices
• Health/Pharma packaging/containers
• Electrical components
• Automotive components
• Consumer products

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Application Examples

• Top Loading – Multiple Machine Access

– Top loading rail mount robots with 6-degrees of freedom motion
provide highly flexible loading and unloading of parts.
– Use of robot to access more than one operation optimizes the
automation investment.

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Application Examples

• Product Assembly-Inspection-Testing
– Robotic assembly can be done as a secondary operation
eliminating downstream operations.
– Provides increased quality and accuracy of complex assemblies
by constant handling instead of dropping parts into bins.
– Improved traceability and data logging of batch/lot processing.
– Inspection/Testing operations performed using vision for part
identification, inspection, quality control, and process gauging.

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Application Examples

• Plastics Deburring
– Robotic deburring and trimming is a highly reliable means for
finishing plastic products as either a secondary or completely
separate process.
– Robotics guarantees repeatable operations for more consitstent
and higher quality part finishes.

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Application Examples

• Robotic Deburring
– Secondary operation to remove burrs created during the
extruding process.
– Eliminates ergonomic and safety issues
– Provides consistent part finishing
– Incorporation of force feedback devices mitigates robotic
inaccuracies and end-effector vibration.

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Application Examples

• Controlled Environment Molding

– Cleanroom rated robots are suitable for operation in Cleanroom
and low contamination molding environments in the medical,
pharmaceutical, optical and electronics industries.
– Cleanroom robots ensure extremely reliable and precise
handling of the parts as well as a high level of cleanliness.
– Robots can perform flawlessly and eliminate particulate
contamination within the chamber.

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Application Examples

• Multiple Operations at the Press

– Secondary processing of parts can be performed during the
molding cycle including;
• Degating
• Deburring
• Gluing
• Sealing
• Trimming
• Polishing
• Part Marking
• Inspection
• Assembly

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Application Examples

• Post Molding Secondary Processes - Assembly

– Robotic assembly provides cost effective method for part/product
requiring value-added processes.
– Robotic assembly provides high-yield assembly process with
integrated inspection.
– Ideal for products requiring process traceability such as medical
and automotive parts.

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Application Examples

• Product Sorting & Collating

– Loading / Unloading of dispensing trays
– Part sorting and collating for nesting operations
– Part stacking and sorting of quality and sub standard parts
– Concurrent and simultaneous operations
– Part case packing and palletizing
– Multiple part handling for increased efficiencies

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