A Space-Saving Solution for Feeding, Removing, Buffering and Ejecting Parts
Task
Feeding, removing, buffering and ejecting gearwheels in an automated quality control process
A custom machine manufacturer in the field of automated gear testing needed a solution for automatically conveying 6 kg of cogs and gear wheels to and from a testing station. At the same time, the conveying path designed for the task had to buffer the parts to be tested and allow any parts that were not okay to be ejected. To maximise valuable assembly space, the path had to use as little room as possible.
Solution from mk
Compact and customised conveying path based on the Versaflex A08 chain conveyor system
The experts at mk created two circulation systems for this challenge, with the two systems positioned on the infeed and outfeed side of a testing station. The Versaflex P08 chain conveyor system, a compact pallet circulation system that allows for complex track layouts over three dimensions, was particularly well-suited for the job. It follows the modular principle and can be extended with a multitude of functions. The conveyor chain consists of flat, interconnected plastic links that are 83 mm wide and move on wear strips to keep wear to a minimum. The single-track design and curve radii starting at 150 mm make it possible to create efficient circulation systems in limited space.
The inlet side of the conveyor system can move ten pallets. At a manual workstation, the cogs or gearwheels are placed on the pallets, buffered on the conveying path and individually fed into an extractor unit and positioned. A two-axis handling system supplied by the customer then removes the parts to be tested and transfers them to the testing station. The empty pallet remains on the circulation system and is guided back to the manual workstation. The testing station tests the gearwheels for noises and checks both how they run and their dimensional accuracy.
Following testing, the tested parts are transferred back to an available pallet on the outlet side of the conveyor system. The test results are saved to the pallet’s RFID transponder. Customised, space-saving switches guide the pallets containing the parts to be tested to the various sections of the track. Pallets with parts that are okay move to the next stop position, where staff remove the tested parts manually. The empty pallets are guided back to the testing station immediately. The conveyor system guides pallets with NOK parts to a separate removal point, where the RFID data is read out and the part is reworked or rejected.
The custom machine manufacturer reports that it is very satisfied with the solution from mk. As well as being quick and easy to configure and commission, the solution is also fail-safe and low-maintenance. Furthermore, it can be extended flexibly, making it future-proof.
Benefits for the customer
- Space-saving design: multifunctional conveying paths can be created in tight spaces
- Time benefit: quick configuration and commissioning by the experts at mk
- Future-proof: the conveying path can be modified and extended with minimal effort if required
