Application of six-axis robot in metal processing industry

by xiaolong luo cnc machining shop

The automotive industry has always been the most important field of robot applications. With the increase in automation requirements, the application of industrial robots has been expanded. In addition to traditional welding applications, robots load and unload machine tools, handle materials, stack, grind, spray, and assemble And other fields have been widely used. Metal forming machine tools are an important part of machine tools. The forming process is usually associated with high labor intensity, noise pollution, metal dust, etc. Sometimes it is in a high temperature, high humidity and even polluted environment. The work is simple and boring, and it is difficult for companies to recruit people. The integration of industrial robots and forming machine tools can not only solve the problem of employment of enterprises, but also improve cnc machining efficiency and safety, improve machining accuracy, and have great development space.

Integrated application of CNC bending machine: There are two main ways to integrate robotic bending machine. One is centered on the bending machine. The robot is equipped with vacuum suction cups. Bent element. The second is a flexible machining line for plates formed by robots and laser equipment or CNC turntable punches, industrial robot walking axes, sheet transfer lines, positioning tables, and vacuum chuck grippers.

Integrated application of press stamping: There are two main methods for integrated application of robot and press stamping. One is the single robot punching and unloading: the sheet is moved from the destacking table to the positioning table by the robot, and then moved to the press mold after positioning. Pressing is carried out in the middle of the process. After the punching is completed, the robot will pick up the material and put it into the stacking platform to realize the automatic loading and unloading of a single press robot. The second is the robot stamping connection: multiple robots are used to establish a stamping connection between multiple presses. According to the requirements of the forming process of the processed workpiece, multiple presses are required for machining. The entire production line consists of a destacking robot, a feeding robot, and a transfer robot between the press and a tail robot. Compared with the manipulator with linear coordinates, the six-axis robot is more flexible, does not have the same height requirements for the mold, and is easy to integrate.

Integrated application of hot die forging: Hot die forging production line usually consists of two die forging presses, one for punching and the other for trimming. The integrated application of hot die forging robots is usually equipped with two robots. One is responsible for transferring the high temperature materials processed by the intermediate frequency furnace to the stamping die forging press, and the other is responsible for taking the material from the stamping die forging press and transferring it to another die The forging press performs trimming. In order to prevent the hot stamping workpiece from sticking to the mold, graphite lubrication of the mold is required after each stamping. The lubrication can be completed by a robot or a special mechanism. Because forging is a harsh environment brought by high temperature and humidity and graphite lubrication, special attention must be paid to the robot's protective work and the robot's ability to resist heat radiation.

Welding application: Welding is the latter process of forming machine tool sheet metal machining. Robot welding has two types of resistance welding and arc welding. Welding robot applications account for more than 45% of the entire robot application. The arc welding application is based on a robot, and is equipped with a welding machine, a wire feeder, a welding gun, and a fixture to form a welding workstation. The resistance welding application is based on a robot, and is equipped with spot welding guns, welding controllers, water and gas units, pipeline packages, tooling fixtures and other spot welding workstations.

Integrated applications of robots and machine tools: In the integrated applications with machine tools, the specific application forms of industrial robots are still being explored and innovated. Since industrial robots have many similarities with CNC machine tools in principle and structure, they are all automatic devices controlled by CNC systems and driven by servo motors to achieve precise position movement. Therefore, machine tool manufacturers have considerable advantages in the development of industrial robots. . Therefore, many robot manufacturing companies at home and abroad have the foundation of machine tool manufacturing. The development of robots in the field of machine tools is also a bit special. First, with the continuous improvement of machine tool numerical control technology and the maturity of various automatic detection and dynamic compensation technologies, the development of machine tool technology has entered a new stage of intelligence. The addition of robots has only played a role A role that contributes to the flames; the second is that the integrated application of robots and machine tools also has some special advantages, such as increased machine tool density and increased plant utilization; shortened auxiliary time and improved machine tool work efficiency; operation accuracy and repeatability are higher than natural people High; the possibility of injury is greatly reduced; can work continuously for a long time without emotional problems and emotional needs, and so on.

At present, the main forms of integrated applications of robots and machine tools: In most application fields such as welding, handling, palletizing, and assembly, industrial robots are used as host computers. In contrast, robots that are matched with machine tools generally function as auxiliary machines. The current specific application forms are:

(1) Single machine loading and unloading

Single machine loading and unloading is the most typical and mature application of robots on machine tools. It is more accurate, faster and safer than manual loading and unloading. For the machining of small and medium-sized parts with large production batches and short machining time, or heavy workpieces that need to be hoisted, the advantages of robot loading and unloading are particularly obvious.

The structural relationship between robots and machine tools is divided into two forms: the robot is installed outside the machine tool and the machine tool is integrated into the machine tool. Robots installed outside the machine tool are divided into fixed, mobile and rack type.

(2) Robot and machine tool form a flexible production line

Robots undertake the process conversion of the workpiece and form a flexible production line with several machine tools. It is a more complex and valuable application than single machine loading and unloading. In the current process of industrial transformation and upgrading, market demand is getting stronger and stronger.

In this application, the layout of the machine depends on factors such as process routes and site conditions. Common forms are L-shaped, U-shaped, linear, and oppositely arranged. Among them, three CNC machine tools form a U-shaped layout, and a robot performs workpiece conversion in the middle of the site, which is very compact.

(3) Complete the machining process with the machine tool

The robot grips the workpiece to realize the machining operation on the punching, shearing and bending machine. It is not only simple loading and unloading, but also replaces all the original manual operations. This is more accurate and faster than manual operation, which improves product quality and production efficiency. In particular, it completely solves the hidden dangers of work injuries in stamping machine tools.

(4) Independent machining

A special gripper is attached to the robot, and the robot can complete the cutting, grinding, polishing, and cleaning processes. Even the robot can directly hold the cutting tool, punch, tap, rivet the workpiece, and perform laser cutting. In this case, the robot itself is a machine tool.

A robot with vision and touch can be used for complicated processes such as assembly and parts sorting. Even if it is loading and unloading, it is not necessary to use a dedicated workstation with positioning device.

Equip the robot with special grippers, which can be used in casting and forging machinery operating in high temperature environments, to complete the tasks that are difficult to be performed directly by humans, such as hot metal extraction, pouring, hot and cold blanks, and replacement of hot molds.

The authoritative professional exhibition is the best window to reflect the overall situation and technology trends of an industry. The reason for this rapid development trend is of course related to the general factors of China's industrial transformation and upgrading, the rapid increase in labor costs, the decline in industrial robot prices, and the increase in performance. It is a highly flexible general-purpose automation device, and its application occasions and functions have unlimited expansion space.

Robots are now the typical representatives of advanced manufacturing technology and automation equipment. Intelligent industrial equipment has become the basis for the upgrading and transformation of global manufacturing. The integrated application of industrial robots and CNC machine tools enables intelligent manufacturing and digital workshops and smart factories to move from concept to reality.

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Created on Jan 12th 2020 21:08. Viewed 275 times.

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