Quick ROI with automated parts handling for injection moulding machines

About the application:

The automated parts handling system of the Boy 35 EVV injection moulding machine performs monotonous tasks, is simple to operate and pays for itself in just four months. The robolink DC robot used in the application has five degrees of freedom and places hundreds of ice scrapers in the injection moulding machine for further processing.  

The problem

Before this automation phase, employees had to insert parts into the machine by hand. Hundreds of them each shift. The work was monotonous, inefficient, tiring and susceptible to errors.

The solution:

The robolink articulated arm robot grips the ice scraper with a vacuum end effector and moves it  to the moulding machine. There are suction cups on the back of the end effector as well. This allows the arm to pick up a finished ice scraper, rotate 180 degrees and place the next blank. The robot arm then places the finished ice scraper on a conveyor belt. Simultaneous removal and insertion in a single cycle saves time. 
This automated solution is easy to operate, and even those unfamiliar with IT can work on it after only a few hours of training. The robot control system is a DIN rail version installed in a control cabinet; it controls the stepper motors. The robot's lightweight construction also reduces energy consumption and requires only 1.67 square metres of work surface.