Loop designed and implemented a robotic system for ThyssenKrupp Aerospace Milton Keynes. It automates the process of weighing, stacking and printing on a range of high carbon steel billets used in the defence industry. Sizes and shapes range in weight from 5 to 60kg.
The system comprises of a Kuka KR-120 6 axis robot with a U block electro-permanent magnet attached to the robot head. Printing to the billets is performed by a high pressure Telesis pneumatic printer.
The billet handling system is activated by scanning a barcode on a purchase sheet. This encodes the robot with details ranging from the size of the billet to the weight tolerance.
The robot uses a proximity switch to determine the location of the end of the billet. The billet is picked up from this location and placed within range of the Telesis pneumatic printer which prints the batch and the part number to each billet.
With the part and batch number printed the billet is placed on the scales to check the weight is within the tolerances set by the customer. If this is not the case the billet is picked up from the scales and discarded. The correct weight billets are stacked on a pallet with the printed surface facing outwards.
``Thanks to you and your team for the effort and hard work you have all put in over the bank holiday, and the progress speaks for itself.``
