Limiter Loading and Check System

This automated load and check system was designed to take bulk limiters with a feeder bowl and single them into a known orientation for a magazine loader system. It then used a robot to take a full magazine and drop the limiters into place on an injection mold, while a machine vision system confirmed all operations happened properly.

The system was installed in conjunction with a new rubber injection molding press to ease the labor demands of the molding process. An operator would load bulk limiters into the feeder bowl hopper once a shift. They would then return periodically to unload completed gaskets. In between those operations, a robot would pick a full magazine of parts to load into the hot mold. A machine vision system would inspect the surface of the mold for mold clear and proper insert loading.

The system utilized a Vibromatic Feeder Bowl, a Fanuc M-10 6-axis Robot, and a Keyence vision controller with a pair of Keyence high resolution 2MP vision cameras. A PLC and a color touch screen HMI were used to control this machine and display run data along with connecting to all Press controls via a Euromap connection. All electrical components were housed inside a Nema-12 enclosure on the front of the system.