Robotic Safety Module Assembly
FANUC Authorized System Integrator, Steven Douglas Corp. (SDC) designed and developed this custom system to automatically assemble and test a safety module that was previously assembled manually. This system integrates a FANUC robot, Cognex vision system and a print-and-apply labeling system into a custom cell with part specific fixtures, grippers, conveyors and pneumatic and servo-driven mechanisms to assemble and test the products.
This assembly consists of two PCBs, an outer housing, a lid, two electronic keys and two labels.
The FANUC LR Mate 200iD picks two PCBs (one at a time) from a custom, manually loaded, part-holding cassette then presents it to a bar code reader to verify the part number and initiate a part tracking sequence. After verification, the PCBs are loaded into a custom press to mate the two PCBs together.
While the boards are in the press, the robot picks the safety module outer housing from an infeed parts conveyor. Simultaneously, the press spins to present the opposite side of the mated PCBs to the robot for removal.
The outer housing is made from plastic that can be slightly warped, SDC designed a custom vacuum gripper system to “open” the housing and hold it in a consistent and squared rectangular shape for the robot to easily load the pressed PCBs.
After the PCBs are loaded into the housing, a lid is pressed onto the outer housing assembly using a pneumatic pick-and-place.
The robot then moves the assembly to a key insert station. The keys are fed into the machine using a vibratory bowl feeder and onto a servo-driven applicator which provides the correct rotational position for each part number.
After the keys are installed, a label is applied to both sides of the module by a print-and-apply labeling system using an automatic rotating fixture.
The robot presents the final assembly to a machine vision system to verify the correct data and position for the labels, as well as the correct position and orientation of the keys.
The final assembly is loaded into a staging fixture and the robot repeats the process.
Once four assemblies are placed in the staging fixture, a servo-driven gantry system picks all four parts up and places them into an electrical testing machine. Once the testing is complete, the gantry system places the assemblies on the appropriate conveyor based on the results of the test.
The testing takes longer than the robotic assembly process, so SDC added a part accumulation area to the machine. If the staging fixture is full, the robot will place the parts in the accumulation area so the cell can keep running. When the previous test is complete, the robot will move four assemblies from the accumulation area and into the staging fixture.
If the parts do not pass an inspection test at any point in the assembly process, they are placed in a “failed part” bin for operator assessment. This includes parts that were not the correct part number for the sequence and/or parts that were damaged or otherwise incorrect.
Whatever your automation needs, SDC can help
www.sdcautomation.com