June 2014 | ManufacturingEngineeringMedia.com 71
Automation systems are much more
than just using robots to weld, cut or
finish components. Today’s part-han-
dling automation choices are expand-
ing, with new or enhanced robotic and
non-robotic material-handling solutions
that can improve cycle times, optimize factory floor space
and help lower overall manufacturing costs.
Linear motion automation systems greatly expand the
robotic work envelope and help manufacturers maximize
factory-floor layouts. Using track-mounted or overhead
gantry robots offers manufacturers better options to cre-
ate production lines best suited to their manufacturing
operations. Among non-robotic material handling, newer
spindle pick-up automation and linear pallet-handling
systems offer manufacturers more choices in small-parts
manufacturing for high-volume applications like automo-
tive gears and engine components.
The third-generation Trackmotion TMF-4 from Güdel Inc.
is configured for an ABB IRB 6640 robot, with cables
and center mount cable track.
Keeping Automated Manufacturing on TrackLinear axis-mounted robots, spindle pick-up automation and robotic hybrid palletizer systems help boost production efficiencies
Patrick WaurzyniakSenior Editor
Automation
Photo courtesy Güdel Inc.
“Machine tending and machine loading are about 42% of
the robot market. It’s significant, and it’s for everything from
die-cast machines, to injection molding, to machine tools and
all manner of machines,” said Joe Campbell, vice president,
sales and marketing, Güdel Inc. (Ann Arbor, MI, and Lan-
genthal, Switzerland). “Right now, because of linear motion
technology you have an unprecedented array of choices for
how to load and unload your machine tools.”
Those choices include using a robot at each machine tool,
putting the robot on a floor track to serve multiple machine
tools, or employing overhead gantry-mounted robots to service
multiple machines. “The cost-effectiveness and reliability of
linear motion robotic automation makes all of these choices
viable,” Campbell said.
Expanding the Robot’s Reach
Automation specialist Güdel builds linear-motion automa-
tion systems for mounting multiaxis robots on track systems
using universal plates that can fit any OEM robot brand. In
January 2014, the company announced that it had transi-
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72 ManufacturingEngineeringMedia.com | June 2014
Automation
The Güdel BDS-1 Press De-Stacker/Loader for press automa-
tion applications features carbon-fiber master boom con-
struction and is capable of handling 18-20 parts per minute.
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Güd
el In
c.
tioned all manufacturing of its third-generation robot tracks
from Switzerland to its US headquarters in Ann Arbor, MI.
The Güdel next-generation robotic track systems include
a newly launched overhead rail, the Trackmotion Overhead
(TMO) system, that mounts robots on
overhead gantries in either an inverted
orientation, on the side of the rail or on
top of the rail. The overhead tracks are
somewhat unusual for the market, said
Campbell, with FANUC offering its own
gantry robot tracks while other robotic
OEMs do not. “A lot of people use floor
tracks rather than overhead gantries
based on outdated perceptions of what is
easier,” he added.
Rail-mounted six-axis robot models
are popular because of their flexibility
for multiple applications. “The operative
word is multiaxis. The robot controller
can manage the linear track motion as
a seventh axis, making the robot and
track operate as an integrated, highly
flexible device,” Campbell said. “Fur-
thermore, these systems can be reap-
plied and used in other applications.”
Using highly reprogrammable robots
makes them an ideal flexible manufac-
turing choice for automating factories.
“We configure linear motion tracks for
an application, but we’re configuring
them with the same building blocks that
we may use for a completely different
industry or a different segment, and
they can be redeployed,” Campbell
said. “We’re doing a number of jobs
right now in automotive powertrain parts
manufacturing where we’re relocat-
ing, reconfiguring, reprogramming and
adding onto old gantry robots that we’ve
installed over the years.”
More Robust Construction
In high-speed sheetmetal press au-
tomation, powertrain machine load and
unload, and tire manufacturing, Güdel
acts as an integrator. “We use our standard modules config-
ured specifically for an application such as powertrain. In both
tire and sheetmetal, we have standard products designed for
those applications,” Campbell said.
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The traditional approach has been to build very light,
open-truss-designed gantry robots, he added. “You’ve got two
X tracks in parallel, then the beam that goes across them is
an open truss, like the truss you’d find in a steel building,”
he said. “From that design standpoint, the way you get speed
and performance is to keep taking weight out—you want as
light a weight as possible. We think we’ve got a better alterna-
tive for the increased demands for higher throughput in the
packing area.”
Güdel takes a different design ap-
proach, he said. “We built our gantry
mechanisms with welded box-beam
construction and steel tube, not an
aluminum truss. Our philosophy is to
build the mechanism as stiff as possible,
with a rack-and-pinion drive instead of
the belt drive, and take that stiff mecha-
nism and push a tremendous amount of
power into it through the motors and the
gearboxes—that’s how we get speed.”
“The robot guys want the best ratio of usable work
envelope to footprint—the smallest dead space around
the base of the robot, and the biggest work envelope.”
The new generation of Trackmotion
adds improved performance and reli-
ability. The frame is now a closed, gus-
seted weldment that delivers increased
stiffness with a smaller footprint. The
enclosed frame design also prevents
debris buildup in the center of the track.
The track’s improved stiffness means
less deflection over the travel length, with
repeatability of ±0.02 mm, the ability to
operate at higher speeds and accelera-
tion of up to 180 m/min, while requiring
less floor space.
“The previous generation was kind
of brute force, they would lay down two
C channels and weld a bunch of cross
beams, like railroad ties, across them,”
Campbell said. “You still see people
offering this, which is big and heavy. If
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74 ManufacturingEngineeringMedia.com | June 2014
Automation
you look at the new Trackmotion systems we’re doing, it has a
welded, closed-profile design with gussets—it’s like a unibody
in a car.” The welded frames give the system much more
stiffness with less mass while taking up much less space.
“The robot guys want the best ratio of usable work envelope to
footprint—they want the smallest dead space around the base
of the robot, and the biggest work envelope.”
Testing for a worst-case scenario is critical to ensure reliabil-
ity. Where many buyers make a mistake is to just add the weight
of the robot and the payload together, Campbell noted. “If the
robot weighs 1000 pounds, with a payload capacity of 100
pounds, and I build my track and the bearing structure to sup-
port 1100 pounds, that’s guaranteed to fail,” he said. “The worst
case is the robot with a full payload, and the full payload is at a
certain distance from the toolplate on the robot, then you put the
robot at full extension and at 90° to the track so it’s stretched out
over the side, move it at full speed and then hit the emergency
stop. That is when you need your track to perform.”
Adding Robotic Flexibility to Palletizers
For more flexible palletizing systems, automation and
robotics integrator Intelligrated (Mason, OH) has been adding
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76 ManufacturingEngineeringMedia.com | June 2014
Automation
Robotic hybrid palletizers for material handling from Intel-
ligrated combine robotics with traditional palletizing for
increased flexibility and to optimize factory floor space.
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Inte
lligr
ated
Come see us at North Hall Booth #7333
robots to its traditional palletizing systems used in process
industries, packaging systems and warehouse applications.
“We’re seeing an increased need for flexibility in our solu-
tions,” said Matt Wicks, Intelligrated vice president, product
development, manufacturing. “Many of
the demands placed on our customers
require them to be agile with their solu-
tions. Robotic applications are at the
forefront of this trend.”
Intelligrated’s solutions for manu-
facturers include case packing, pallet-
izing, warehousing and order-fulfillment.
“Many manufacturers’ automation
solutions focus on the process of manu-
facturing the product, but when it comes
to packing, palletizing and warehousing,
this is where their automation systems
stop,” Wicks said. “We offer automation
solutions to streamline manufacturers’
processes downstream of their manufac-
turing.” The company’s automation sys-
tems include robotic case packing and
palletizing, conveyance and sortation,
automated storage and retrieval systems
(AS/RS) and shuttle technology, inventory
management, warehouse management
systems software capabilities and order-
picking solutions.
Many requirements should be con-
sidered when investing in an automation
system, Wicks said, including system ca-
pacity, return on investment and reliability.
“When considering solutions to automate
manufacturing order fulfillment, integra-
tion with the manufacturing systems is
critical,” he said. “The tight relationship
between what is being manufactured,
what is in inventory and what is required
to fulfill orders must be balanced to main-
tain efficiency of all the systems.”
Several new products recently
launched that lend support to order ful-
fillment needs of manufacturers, Wicks
said, including the Alvey 750 robotic
hybrid palletizers, several new product
offerings from Intelligrated’s Knighted subsidiary and the OLS
(one-level shuttle) system for case storage and retrieval.
“Integration of robotics into our automation solutions have
been increasing over time. A good example of this is how we
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have been integrating robotics into our conventional palletizers,”
Wicks added. “Traditionally, automated palletizing has been done
with a custom machine suited to the needs of the manufacturer
that are unique to the manufacturer’s products. If those products
change over time, physical changes may be required to support
the new product types. By integrating robotics into a conventional
machine, this provides more flexibility into the palletizing patterns
being formed and reduces the need for physical changes when
packaging changes. As robotics become more advanced, the
opportunities for their integration have followed suit.”
Spindle Pick-Up Automation
For smaller parts manufacturing, the VL-Series turning
machines from EMAG LLC (Farmington Hills, MI) use the
machine working spindle not only to machine workpieces, but
also to load and unload them from automation. The VL-Series
vertical pick-up turning machine models include the VL 2, VL
4, VL 6 and VL 8 lathes aimed at small-part manufacturing
applications in automotive and nonautomotive medium-to-
large-scale part production.
With EMAG’s patented spindle pick-up technology, the
workpiece is transported into the machine using a lateral
conveyor system in an “O” design included as standard
equipment. The “O”-automation is a workpiece transport
system which is fitted to the left side of the machines. “The
parts travel on the conveyor to a pick-up station,” said Marius
Mazur, product manager for the VL of turning machines.
“In the pick-up station, the parts on the conveyor belt are
positioned exactly in the center using the NC program. A
gimbal-mounted pressure plate pushes the part safely to the
clamping jaws and workpiece clamping system, irrespective
of burrs or casting projections. For us, this automation is an
integral part of the machine, where one operator can operate
up multiple machines at a time.”
The VL-Series vertical turning machine’s advantages in-
clude a small footprint and the automation’s ability to lower cy-
cle times and optimize machine uptime. The pick-up spindle
takes the raw parts from the universal workpiece prism and
after machining places finished parts back on the prism.
Workpieces handled by the VL-Series lathes are mostly cy-
lindrical; however, asymmetrical or position-oriented workpieces
can be put on specially designed pallets and simply inserted in
the drag frames, Mazur said. Workpiece sizes range from 100-
mm diam and 150-mm length for the VL 2 lathe, ranging up to
400-mm diam by 300-mm lengths on the largest VL 8 ma-
chine. The systems offer users attractive Overall Equipment Ef-
fectiveness (OEE) levels with high machine uptime. Cycle times
are improved dramatically with the system, Mazur said. “Pick-
up working spindle moves in the X and Y axes with minimum
response times and the tool turret guarantees short swiveling
times,” Mazur said. “The machine is working constantly.”
High-Efficiency Pallet Changers
Another non-robotic solution, the Rotary Loading System
(RLS) comes from automation developer Liebherr Automation
(Saline, MI), a subsidiary of Liebherr-Versahntechnik GmbH
(Kempten, Germany). The RLS offers a smaller footprint and it’s
aimed more at job-shop-type applications, noted Kevin Heise,
vice president, Automation Systems, Liebherr Automation.
The RLS is ideal for smaller operations that don’t need and
cannot afford larger linear automation systems like Liebherr’s
PHS pallet-changing linear automation systems. The RLS is a
cost-effective way to automate high-efficiency production on
one or two machine tools, Heise said.
“The linear gantry is the backbone of our portfolio,” Heise
said. “It was basically one of the whole enablers, once manu-
facturing switched from transfer lines.” The systems help
manufacturers maximize production, he said, for high-volume
lines in automotive that build crankshafts, cams, heads,
blocks, and transmission parts.
Medical components are another area targeted by Liebherr
with the RLS automation, which comes in two sizes, the RLS
800 and RLS 1500 systems capable of transporting workpiece
weights of 800 and 1500 kg, respectively. “The Rotary Loading
System is kind of like the little brother of the PHS,” Heise said.
78 ManufacturingEngineeringMedia.com | June 2014
Automation
The pick-up automation system in EMAG’s VL-Series turning
machines transports parts to the lathe where spindles load
and unload parts into the machine tool.
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EMA
G L
LC
“For smaller footprint applications, it’s ideal and you might load
one or two machine tools with it.”
Liebherr’s RLS automation helps keep machines running
constantly, Heise said, with machine uptime averaging up to
90–95%. For a job-shop owner, this
allows the operation to free skilled opera-
tors for more advanced work in toolset-
ting, gaging or other areas, he added.
The RLS features rack columns that
are modular designs, with up to 24 stor-
age locations in a minimal footprint. The
optional Rotary Storage Tower (RST) can
be added later, with the tower offering
space for up to 18 additional storage
locations in a slightly larger minimum space requirement. The
systems include the Soflex Cell Controller for simple operation
with an intuitive user interface for the Soflex-PCS cell control
system software. ME
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June 2014 | ManufacturingEngineeringMedia.com 79
EMAG LLC Ph: 248-477-7440
Web site: www.emag.com
Güdel Inc. Ph: 734-214-0000
Web site: www.gudel.com
Intelligrated Inc.Ph: 866-936-7300
Web site: www.intelligrated.com
Liebherr Automation Ph: 734-429-7225
Web site: www.liebherr.us
Want More Information?
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Lieb
herr
Aut
omat
ion
The Rotary Loading Systems (RLS)
palletized automation from Liebherr
features a reduced footprint and is
used in small-part manufacturing
loading and job-shop applications.
See us at Booth #N-6825
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