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Morgal Machine Tool Company Begins Robotic Automation

Nearly two years ago, the concept of operating three production pulley-splitting machines with only one associate instead of three associates was under study. Many other manufacturers had accomplished similar feats of multiple machines being operated by one associate, but could the Morgal team succeed with such a project? The answer was "Yes"! And the search was on to find a supplier of robotic automation and turnkey systems to make our dream come true.

After months of searching and reviewing proposals, the selected supplier provided an acceptable proposal to our team. The essence of the proposal was to create an automation process that would assist a single associate in loading blanks, unloading, and inspecting finished pulleys from the three production pulley-splitting machines. The process included three industrial grade robots with special end-of-arm tooling (EAT), along with miscellaneous support peripheral equipment and an integrated inspection gauging system.

The chosen robot manufacturer was Mitsubishi. All three purchased robots were equipped with programmable teaching pendants. This added option allows the associate to create their own program as well as adjust the existing program to changing parameters in the automation process.

The end-of-arm tooling (EAT), consists of a control valve interfaced single vacuum gripper system. Attached to the custom mounting brackets are the laser height detection gauge and the electrical sensors for part presence detection. In addition, each robot arm has an anti-collision detection device.

The integrated 100% inspection gauging system is loaded by the robot with a finished pulley, clamped, and rotated as 3 electronic gauges collect data on finished pulley concentricity, wobble, and pin-out dimensions. A "Pass" or "Fail" condition is recognized by the PLC control and the finished pulley is appropriately moved to either the conforming chute or non-conforming chute by the robot.

Additional systems had to be developed by the Morgal team such as the method of raw material palletized delivery system, finished pulley transfer system, and safety cage interlock entry system. Only one of the raw material delivery systems remains to be fully developed. Other challenges have been the associate operation and programming training required across all three shifts. The learning curve for this new technology has been challenging, but the rewards of increased productivity and efficiency have been realized. Also, as the product line for the pulley-splitting machines continues to evolve, system flexibility will be the key to our future success.

The Morgal team is continuing to learn and improve from this newly installed automated process experience. These lessons will be applied in other automation projects throughout the McGregor metal working companies.