Project Scope:
Footwear Insert Assembly System
SDC’s customer that specializes in producing supportive shoe inserts needed a machine to efficiently assemble a new version of their product line.
Epson T3 SCARA robot, Epson T6 SCARA robot for adhesive dispensing
Epson VT6 six-axis robot
Custom curing oven
Servo-controlled pallet motion transfers
Two integrated mold presses
Custom HMI recipes
Custom PLC programming
The Solution:
This large-scale system was custom designed and built by the SDC team. An indexing dial with several assembly stations starts the process using different parts feeding techniques. A custom glue dispenser was mounted onto an Epson T6 SCARA robot to perform glue applications at two separate stations.
Once the initial product assembly is complete, the product is picked from the indexing dial by an Epson VT6 six-axis robot and placed onto a conveyor that proceeds to a large curing oven. Moving through the vertical conveyor oven racks, the product is then lowered back onto the conveyor and is transferred to one of two mold presses.
After the product is pressed, an operator takes the molded product and places it on the final indexing dial along with two additional support pieces for the next assembly recipe. Moving along this dial, the excess mold is cut, the additional pieces are heated and pressed onto the insert, and a product label is applied. The operator then removes the final product and excess mold to complete the footwear product assembly process.
Machine Rate: 8 parts per minute
