WestPack Wrap: Fanuc Robotics Unveils Trio of New Products at WestPack
The S-430iF robot performs bag handling and weighing with a clamshell gripper. The S-430iF picks a bag off a stand, moves the bag around and weighs the bag while it is on the end-of-arm tool. This weigh-in process feature allow users to eliminate a checkweigh station. The robot requires about one second to complete the weigh.
Offering automated bag handling from the machine to the pallet, the robotic system eliminates manual labor and makes for a safer work environment. The S-430iF handles a variety of industrial-type bags and is best suited for valve bags as well as open tops. Applications are primarily for food and chemicals.
At WestPack, the S-430iF was demonstrated in conjunction with a Stone Container valve filler. For a 50-lb bag, says Fanuc's Michael W. Ehr, industry marketing manager, the S-430iF robot achieves loading/filling/palletizing at speeds to 5-7 bags per fill cycle. For bag loading only, the system handles 20-25 bags per minute, assuming a 50-lb bag.
The S-430iF has a higher payload capacity and larger work envelope that its predecessors do. Its narrow profile and compact wrist make it well suited for jobs in tight quarters that require reaching into or around objects such as machinery.
Freezer Palletizing Solution
Fanuc also showcased its new freezer palletizing system, which operates in sub-zero environments of frozen food warehouses and manufacturing facilities.
Dressed in a Kelvar protective suit, the robotic system, which includes a Fanuc M-410i robot with a vacuum gripper, can operate in temperatures as low as –30 deg. F. Fanuc reports that it recently installed such a system in a global fast food manufacturer's freezer. That system, which has been in continuous production for more than six months, depalletizes cases of frozen food product from pallets and palletizes them into retail distribution racks. Results have shown that the performance of the robot has not been impaired by working in this harsh environment.
This freezer palletizing system allows companies to remove workers from sub-zero temperatures. Typically, workers can only operate in such environments for 20-30 minutes before needing a break to warm up. Thus, the robotic system increases productivity while reducing hazardous risks.
The Kelvar protective suit keeps the robot at a reasonable temperature. When the temperature inside the suit drops below the robot's minimum operating temperature, a heating system supplies warm air into the suit. Two heating systems are employed: compressed air and electric forced air.
PC-based Vision System
Finally, Fanuc Robotics has released visLOC, a ready-to-use vision package. The PC-based robotic vision system is used for determining an object's location and orientation, providing advanced robot guidance capabilities for machine load/unload, material handling, packaging and assembly applications. No programming language is required. Powered by PatMax from Cognex, VisLOC simplifies the integration of machine vision with Fanuc robot systems.
For more information: Fanuc Robotics North America Inc., 3900 W. Hamlin Rd., Rochester Hills, MI 48309-3253, Tel: 248-377-7000, Fax: 248-276-4133.
Edited by Bill Noone