Automated key production on an injection molding machine
Schneider Kunststoff Technik GmbH in Kirchheim manufactures technical plastic parts for customers in the automotive, mechanical engineering, packaging and sensor technology sectors.
The company also develops, produces and assembles its own products.
Focus on energy efficiency
Automation combined with job security for qualified employees was the aim when procuring new production systems.
Schneider Kunststoff Technik, as part of the Bavarian Environmental Pact, placed a major focus on energy efficiency and high process stability.
Scope of delivery of SAR
In addition to an automation cell for water filter production, the SAR Group supplied a second robot solution for automated key production on a Sumitomo DEMAG injection molding machine.
This essentially involved separating key blanks into 4 cavities via a sorting bowl and providing them in a position-oriented manner in the first step.
The quality of the blanks is checked in advance in this unit – only parts with a defined maximum deflection are allowed to reach the transfer pick-up.
Picked up by the robot in a precise position, the keys are inserted on the fixed side of the mold mounting platen in a defined manner and their positions are ensured by the mold.
This is followed by the actual injection molding process for the key handles.
After the mold is opened, the overmolded key shanks are removed from the mold and new blanks are inserted into the mold in a defined position in the same process step.
The sprues of all 4 components are punched out simultaneously via a shaft – this ensures a short cycle time.
The finished keys are then fed to the component chute via the shortest possible route.
This is installed above a floor conveyor to save space, so that the transport boxes provided by the worker can be filled for hours without an operator.
Space-saving
In addition to the energy balance, saving space was a key decision criterion for the integrated SAR solution with an articulated robot.
As a fixed component, this ensures not only the high availability of the overall system but also the flexibility to actively support any changes requested by the customer.
As a result, 2.5 million keys leave Schneider Kunststofftechnik GmbH in consistent quality and ultimately enable the end customer to open and close the individual locks.
For further information, please contact us at kss@sar.biz
