Timloc invests in six-axis robots from Fanuc

Timloc Building Products has invested in five six-axis robots from Fanuc Robotics to help reduce its cost base.

The robots are removing components from moulding presses and packing them ready for delivery.

Timloc, a member company of the Alumasc Group, manufactures a range of plastic building products for roof, wall and floor ventilation.

David Preston, Timloc's managing director, said: 'Labour is our biggest cost base and operating at three shifts over five days, it is significant.

'As most of our labour is employed in packing large volumes of mouldings, this operation became our target for automation,' he added.

Already using linear-axis robots on two injection moulding machines, Timloc was aware of the limitations and capabilities of robots.

The current robots were limited to removing mouldings and placing them onto a conveyor.

Hi-Tech Automation, a Fanuc Robotics strategic partner, proposed a six-axis robot approach for each unload and packing requirement.

The five robot systems, comprising a Fanuc Robotics Arcmate robot, an injection moulding machine and peripheral tooling for locating boxes and components, perform different operations but principally all systems are packaging products.

The complexity of the task varies from the assembly of two components to the handling of a long 'floppy' component.

The six-axis flexibility has allowed the robot in each case to replicate the human packers.

Telescopic under-floor ventilators are produced in a two-part mould and are removed from the tool by the Arcmate robot.

Both parts have to be assembled and one part slides into the other.

To enable this, Hi-Tech designed a fixture that controls the shape of the mating parts prior to the robot assembling them together.

On completion of assembly, the robot places the finished component, in an interlocking pattern, into a pre-erected cardboard box.

When the box is full, it is automatically removed from the cell and a new empty box is conveyed into the cell for the process to continue.

The only human intervention required is to keep the robot systems loaded with boxes and to remove full boxes.

This process also acts as quality control as the operator tapes the box lid shut when it is taken away to the despatch area.

Timloc claims to have achieved its cost-down objective and, although limited by space, is looking to expand.

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