CUSTOMER:
Leading manufacturer of automotive braking products

PROBLEM:
To locate, identify and remove castings, each weighing up to 16kg and which are randomly piled within a bin, and place them to an outfeed conveyor within a 22 second cycle time.

SOLUTION:
Equipment:

• Fanuc R2000iA W165F Intelligent robot
• Fanuc integrated 3D Vision system
• Purpose built robot gripper
• Turnkey robot cell

Installation:
Faced with the challenge of consistently retrieving heavy castings from a bin, 24 hours a day and mindful to avoid the OH&S issues associated with this type of work, JHA&R developed a robotic solution utilising a 3D Vision system to meet the customer's requirements.

The installation uses 2D camera and 3D laser equipment to identify accessible parts within the bin and then to determine their precise location and orientation. Using a gripper purpose built by JHA&R, the robot then removes the part from the bin. Finally, the vision system checks the part orientation and should the part be the wrong way up for machining, it is inverted prior to leaving the cell.

This is the first application of robotic 3D Vision bin picking in Australia and following the successful introduction of the first cell, two further installations have since been commissioned for the same customer.

OUTCOMES & BENEFITS:

• Consistent and reliable output.
• Elimination of OH&S issues associated with reaching and lifting.
• Vision system identifies any incorrect parts and rejects them.
• Ease of programming Fanuc robot.
• Fanuc 3D Vision system (hardware & software) integrates seamlessly with robot, reducing programming & commissioning time.

FANUC R2000iA 165F Robot

Robot with 3D vision and gripper to pick up castings

Close up of the gripper