Project Scope:
FDA-Approved Medical Device Assembly
A SDC returning customer in the medical manufacturing industry updated their product line, requiring a retrofitting of their current assembly and processing machine.
Bellco Feeders vibratory bowl feeding
New washer magnetic grippers
Software, machine vision, inspection and lighting updates
New slip sheet feeder
Finished box handling with tamper-proof sticker dispenser
Mechanical retooling
The Solution:
The retrofit of this machine was a quick update because the original machine was designed and built by SDC. To accommodate the second-generation medical port, the SDC team retooled the in-line feeding tracks to fit new steel washers. These feed into an 8-station servo-controlled nest for pickup by the spring-loaded magnetic grippers.
Then the grippers transfer the washers to the web and use press force to apply the washers to the stickers on the web. A vision inspection system then verifies placement. A custom cutting mechanism splits the sheets to be stacked into an infeed pocket where the first Epson SCARA robot picks-and-places the sheet, adding a slip sheet on top. These are transferred into an existing packaging machine that the SDC team modified to process a smaller box. Once packaged, the product is picked by a second Epson SCARA robot that applies a tamper seal and places the box on an angled roller conveyor.
Machine Rate: 16 seconds per box
