Barfeeder with parts catcher
If product series are large enough, several hours of unmanned production is possible with a barfeeder and parts catcher. That is a good first step in automation. Still, a barfeeder has some limitations:
- A barfeeder is not suitable for large-diameter materials.
- As only one type of material can go into the barfeeder, it is not possible to run different types of products in one automated production run.
- An operator must manually change product feed, jaws, or collets.
- Valuable products can be damaged by falling into the parts catcher.
Product handling for CNC lathes
Robot automation allows several manual machining processes at CNC lathes to be automated:
- Import of raw material
- Stretching of raw material
- Changing jaws and collets
- Execution and storage of processed products
Automating material infeed and outfeed of machined products can also be done via product handling. A robot gripper from a robotic automation system loads round raw parts and shafts up to 1.5 metres into the CNC lathe.
Avoid labour-intensive operations
Changing product series requires an operator to adjust the CNC lathe. These are labour-intensive operations.
Do you want to automatically process a variety of products in one run? Then you may need different grippers or a long-stroke gripper. These can also be changed automatically.
An operator easily sets the automatic changing of grippers, collets and chuck jaws when creating the production job(s).
Barfeeder with product handling
Do you already have a barfeeder? Robotic automation can be a valuable addition. This eliminates the need for a parts catcher and will not damage your products. The robot can change fixturing and take out processed products automatically via product handling.