Case Study-Denk Kunststoff, Swivel increases robot flexibility

In some cases, it is possible to add more flexibility to the robots and thereby extend their application possibilities. Using a swivel from Robot System Products, the injection moulding company Denk Kunststoff Technik, extended the axis 6 working range of their robots.

In the production of injection moulded parts for the automotive industry, very high equipment efficiencies are required. High automation levels in the production environments are typical and the use of robots is standard. Denk Kunststoff Technik,
working with RSP, found a smart solution to improve equipment utilisation of the existing production cells by adding more flexibility, expanding the types of applications that can be accomplished and by reducing downtime. These improvements were accomplished by using RSP Swivels.

Extends the working range

The swivels developed by RSP extend the working range of the robots sixth axis, increasing the flexibility and reducing cycle time of the robots. Additionally, the swivels eliminate loose hanging hoses and cables, while significantly reducing the maintenance efforts required for the robots. During the rapid handling processes, the reliability of the automation technology plays an important role. According to Denk Kunststoff Technik staff, the swivel technology has proven to be robust and effective. Since the installation of the RSP swivels over 24 months ago, there hasn’t been a single failure despite handling up to 110,000 parts per day in a three-shift operation.

Injection molding around metal parts

The injection moulding cell consists of an Arburg machine, a 6-axes Yaskawa robot and a feeder and separator from Püschel. The robot takes the presented metal inserts out of the Püschel cell and moves the gripper to the injection mould. Here, it takes the injection-surrounded parts from the following cycle out and positions the inserts in the mould. Then the robot drops the finished parts into plastic boxes. Due to the different working cycles, a freely rotatable sixth axis is required. In this case, the S20-2E swivel offers the ideal solution.