The Single-Purpose Machine Division of MOTOR JIKOV Fostron has developed and manufactured an automated workstation for operating CNC lathes. The device, using automated machines that cooperate with machining centres, is intended for machining and handling ball pivots for passenger cars.
The workstation, measuring 6.5 x 6, includes two six-axle robots each operating one CNC lathe. “The work of the robots consists of grabbing a semi-finished product from a vibration bar, inserting it in a CNC lathe fixture, and subsequently removing it after being machined and then measuring it with a camera and inserting it in a finished products stand,“ said Marie Kovaříková, a designer of the work station. The robots work individually with some of the operations being shared, for example when feeding semi-finished products or measuring the pivots.
“It is the first project where we have dealt with a cooperation between the robots and machining centres. Interconnecting the control systems and setting a hundred per cent synchronisation of the robots with individual workstations was the most difficult, with the magazines, conveyers and stacking areas this entails,“ added Jiří Prchlík, an electro-designer. “A customer had specific requirements for maximizing the power and high flexibility when using the work station in other projects as well, with a fast machine reset in about 15 minutes. Anyway, it’s definitely a very interesting project and we would like to offer the experience we have gained to other customers as well.“
