Project Scope:
Drill Bit Package Assembly Machine
A returning customer came to SDC looking for a second assembly and packing machine with added capacity and new configurations. With the knowledge and experience of designing and building the first machine, our team was able to quickly deliver an upgraded machine to handle the original and new varieties of packaging.
Two SDC FlexFeeders
Two 6-axis FANUC robots
Two FANUC SCARA robots
SDC indexing ring
Quick-change end of arm robotic tooling
Keyence 3D bin picking vision system
Vision-guided robotic label positioning
High speed robotic label wrapping technology
The Solution:
Built to handle a wide variety of drill bit sizes and packaging arrangements, this machine builds components at individual stations on an indexing dial with vision inspection until the package is complete and unloaded from the machine.
The dial chassis base is a custom SDC indexing dial with servo-controlled shot pin for fast and precise positioning at every index. To start the process, a six-axis FANUC robot picks parts from an SDC FlexFeeding system and loads the first component onto the main dial chassis. The six-axis system allows for high-speed pick-and-place at any angle.
A custom SDC foam peeling mechanism accurately loads a small rectangular piece of foam into the assembly. The peeling mechanism consists of multiple servo-controlled devices that are electronically timed for high-speed repeatable motion.
A Keyence 3D bin-picking system and another six-axis robot is used to pick the drills bits randomly oriented out of a bin and place them onto the dial chassis. The bits are oriented and inserted using a servo-controlled press and a high-speed vision guided twisting mechanism. This ensures proper bit orientation.
Some packaging arrangements require an additional step. This step uses a second SDC FlexFeeder that loads in another unique plastic clip and places it on top of the drill bit. The two clips are welded together using a Herrmann ultrasonic welder.
Once the product is completed it is robotically unloaded into a specific packaging array on a takeout conveyor. The unload process includes vision guided robotic label placement, and high-speed robotic label wrapping.
Machine Rate: 3.5 parts per second
