Anyfeeders are used in applications involving different parts where products are changed frequently. They convey and flip small parts without refeeding and without the use of conveyor belts.
An anyfeeder is generally made up of three components which work together: an intelligent vibration unit combined with a magazine which separates small parts and realigns them, a vision system which localises the parts and a robot which picks up the parts and moves them on.
A robot guidance system from SICK Automation is being used in Kubik Automation’s sCube assembly cell. The German company specialises in the development of products and production processes for automation technologies. Tailor-made machines are developed for the automotive, electro-mechanics, medical technology and consumer goods sectors. Its assembly cell allows different parts to be handled by a single machine without having to change the production process.
The PLOC2D is a vision system for two-dimensional part localisation. It consists of image processing hardware and is equipped with a localisation algorithm for part localisation. The system can be set up without any programming knowledge, using a configuration and parameterisation process via a Web browser. The EasyTeach method allows the system to be tailored to different parts and it can be integrated into various robot brands and programmable logic controllers.
The work sequence follows the interaction of the three components of an anyfeeder. The robot guidance system detects the position of all parts and transmits position data and orientations to the robot control system. Using this information, the robot is able to pick the correctly aligned parts and feed them to the next process. Any parts that are not properly aligned are ignored. Once the properly aligned parts have been removed, the remaining components in the pick zone are mixed up again by a pulsed vertical oscillation from the vibration unit.