• Gantry Robot Manufacturer & Articulated Arm Integrator

ARTICULATED ARMS

The articulated arm robot pictured is a FANUC R-2000 iB. This warehouse automation system’s primary function is palletizing cartons. This Fanuc Arm Robot utilizes an EOAT (End of Arm Tool), which was custom built and engineered by Sage Automation to pick a 200 pound stack of flat cartons from a conveyor and palletize it unto a dimpled divider sheet.

Sage Automation offers Rail-Mounted Fanuc Robot Arms as a way to implement a more cost-effective solution to serve multiple lines when it comes to palletizing product. This option could be considered for a wide variety of uses such as machine tending, depalletizing, order building, among other more standard articulate arm applications.

Sage Automation is a Fanuc America (ASI), Authorized System Integrator. Articulated Arm robots available w/ 4, 5, or 6 axis. Payload Capacity up to 1,700 Kg.

Arm robots rotate about a base where this primary rotation is usually called J1. For most robots J1 is a rotation such that the axis is vertical and the rotation of the tool is horizontal and parallel to the floor. For more information about Fanuc Robots visit their website at http://www.fanucamerica.com

Arm robots can be used to do many different tasks. Sage has successfully helped many companies automate rubber bale palletizing, carton palletizing, and various machine tending jobs. While Gantry robots can cover huge areas the niche of Arm robots are their ability to do very high speed pick and place jobs and jobs that require articulation.

In the field of Automation, Fanuc America Corporation has become the industry standard for articulated arms with their reliability, repeatability, and adaptability. Sage Automation is a unique industrial robotics integrator for Fanuc Robotics because we also manufacture our own gantry style robots. If you have an application that exceeds a Fanuc’s payload or reach, we have an alternative solution with a Sage Industrial Strength Gantry. Sage Automation has built an Automated Storage and Retrieval System that has a span of 52 feet wide and in excess of 110 yards long, longer than a football field. Currently, our payload record on a gantry style robot is around 12,000lbs/6-ton capacity, which is moving steel components thru a production process. In addition to gantry robotic systems, Sage has built heavy-duty industrial conveying systems and presses that have handled payloads of 25,000lbs.

EXAMPLE APPLICATIONS FOR ARTICULATED ARMS

FANUC M410IHW WITH PIPE GRIPPER

Overall System Layout

Automated Material Handling System (FANUC Based)

This automated small pipe handling system integrates a Fanuc M-410iHW robot and a custom designed end of arm tool with specialized manufacturing equipment. This system will automate the process of picking, preparing and placing pipe into the lathe like equipment.

The robot for this system is a Fanuc M-410iHW articulating arm, which is a four-axis machine that has proven to be a workhorse for the Fanuc line. With an approximate payload of 550 pounds, this unit is easily capable of performing the necessary task at hand. The robot supports a horizontal clamp style end-effector designed to pick the complete range of pipe sections presented.

A Fanuc R-J3 controller handles all the motion control and interfacing for this system. Communications with other equipment is handled through discrete I/O interfacing. A standard Fanuc teach pendant is supplied to control the robot. No HMI is included.

FANUC R2000IB-165F W/ PADDLE CLAMP E.O.A.T.

Overall System Layout:

Automated Material Handling System (FANUC Based)

This project consist of a Fanuc robot stacking synthetic rubber bales (bales) being delivered via two conveyor lines. These bales are estimated to be coming into the system at a rate of 8 bales per minute. The system is capable of a rate of 8 bales per minute with some additional head room.

The bales are being stacked into two different styles of containers with additional subsets of containers in one of the styles. The two styles are a metal container style, and a 3-cell corrugated container style.

The 3-cell corrugated container is the only one of corrugated type.

While all the metal box styles are similar, differences in construction have made it necessary to create a custom selection for each one as the space the robot has to stack rubber is extremely tight.

There are also a set of box locators used on this system capable of handling all styles of corrugated and metal containers. This device is used to align the containers, as well as hold them in place for the first two to three layers of bales.

This system uses a Fanuc Arm Robot to palletize rectangular rubber bales into Goodpack MB5 metal containers. These containers are positioned by a box alignment device provided by another manufacturer. This layout features a high pick point for the conveyor pick so Sage built a custom pedestal for the Fanuc to optimize its reach and maximize its efficiency. This system is part of a much larger system so the container conveyor exits to a main trunk line via a turntable and it can travel North or South on the drawing depending which pick station is requesting a load.

Sage Automation System ComponentsBag Palletizing Cell:

    • Fanuc R2000iB-125L
    • Vacuum End of Arm Tool
    • Box Alignment Device I/O Communication
    • Safety Fencing with Interlocked Access Gates and  mutable light curtains
    • Allen Bradley Panelview HMI
    • HMI and Fanuc Control Panel

Vacuum End of Arm ToolOverall System Layout:

Automated Material Handling System (FANUC Based)Operation Overview:

This Fanuc used a vacuum style end of arm tool to pick and place bags of product into a cardboard box or a metal container.

This system will use a Box Alignment Device provider by another O.E.M., it is capable of handling corrugated and metal containers. This device is used to align the containers, as well as hold them in place while the bags are being loaded into the container.

The existing plant conveying equipment delivers the bags to a repeatable pick position where the robot picks the bags and places them into the container.

Each robot system has a secondary put position which drops a reject bag onto a slide that feeds into a reject container. The robot has a vacuum sensor to determine if a bag is busted and needs rejecting. The operator will determine when the reject container is full and needs to be emptied. The Robot will count the number of rejected bags and relay this information to the ASIC, Inc. interface to track.

Sage Automation System ComponentsPress Palletizing Cell:

    • Fanuc M410-iB160 with RJ-3iC, A size Controller
    • Basket Tine Clamp E.O.A.T. with Interchangeable Tines
    • Slip Sheet Pick & Place Mechanism
    • Pallet Shuttle Carts (X2)
    • Infeed Line Shaft Conveyor w/ End Stop
    • Exit/Outfeed Line Shaft Conveyor
    • Triple Deck Conveyor for staging
    • Removable Belt Conveyor for manual infeed
    • Wide Belt Accumulation Conveyor
    • Safety Fencing with Interlocked Access Gates and mutable light curtains
    • Allen Bradley Panelview HMI
    • HMI and Fanuc Control Panel

Overall System Layout:

Fanuc Bag Stacking PalletizerOperation Overview:

This Fanuc based automated material handling system utilized a basket clamp style end of arm tool that had patented interchangeable tines. This system was designed to pick and place stacks of bags which in this industry was known as a hand. The fanuc picked the hand and placed it on one of the two shuttle carts that had pallet parked in the build location. The shuttle cart exited the system after the pallet load had been completed. The other shuttle cart with pallet moved into place so the Fanuc was never interrupted during the palletizing process. Dual build locations allowed for this Fanuc based solution to keep up with the fast-pace demand of the customer’s production rate making this automated system by Sage very successful.

Sage Automation System ComponentsPress Palletizing Cell:

    • Fanuc R2000F165 Articulated Arm Robot w/ RJ-3 Controller
    • Fork and Clamp End of Arm Tool
    • Belt Accumulation Conveyors (x3)
    • 90 degree Transfer Conveyor
    • Roller-to-belt Transfer Conveyor
    • Actuated Backstop
    • Indexing Belt Conveyor with Lift to present stacks to EOAT
    • Safety Gated Pallet Hopper
    • Safety Gated Slip Sheet Hopper
    • CDLR Conveyors (x3)
    • Wide Belt Accumulation Conveyor
    • Safety Fencing with Interlocked Access Gates
    • PLC Conveyor Controller
    • HMI and Fanuc Control Panel

Overall System Layout:

Automated Material Handling System (Fanuc Based)Operation Overview:

This automated material handling system palletized stacks of die-cut cartons. The Fanuc articulated arm robot utilized a Fork and Clamp style end of arm tool to pick and place the product from the infeed conveyor onto the pallet. The Fanuc had the reach and ability to pick the stack from either side so that it could nest the product closely together to optimize the pallet stack pattern. The conveyor system had built in accumulation zones to allow for system interruptions like an operator restocking the pallet or slipsheet hopper. This system met all of the customers needs and requirements. The customer was very satisfied with the increased safety and efficiency achieved thru this custom automation.