Advance­ments in Mold­ing: The Inte­gra­tion of Robotics

The Evo­lu­tion of Mold­ing Process­es with Robotics

Mold­ing is the process of man­u­fac­tur­ing by shap­ing pli­able raw mate­r­i­al using a rigid pat­tern. Some of the most com­mon types of mold­ing per­formed by a robot include blow mold­ing, com­pres­sion mold­ing, injec­tion mold­ing, plas­tic mold­ing, and trans­fer molding.

Diverse Appli­ca­tions of Robot­ics in Molding

Robot­ics are becom­ing increas­ing­ly pop­u­lar in injec­tion mold­ing relat­ed process­es, from load­ing com­po­nents to fin­ish­ing and assem­bling mold­ed parts. Six-axis artic­u­lat­ed robots are relied on to unload and process parts down­stream from the mold­er, and can also per­form sec­ondary tasks like in-mold dec­o­rat­ing, in-mold label­ing, and auto­mat­ed insert loading.

Role of Robot­ics in Enhanc­ing Mold­ing Operations

Motoman’s Con­tri­bu­tion to Molding

Motoman’s robots are being used for insert load­ing work cells for trim­ming and debur­ring due to the lim­i­ta­tions of sim­ple manip­u­la­tors for extrac­tion of mold­ed parts. Six-axis robots can do more in a foot­print. Some of Motoman’s mold­ing robots include the DA9IC NX100, the HP3 NX100, and the SDA20D DX100.

KUKA’s Mold­ing Automa­tion Solutions

KUKA’s robots are being increas­ing­ly used for mold machine extrac­tion appli­ca­tions. The part is removed from the injec­tion mold­ing machine, and then sec­ondary appli­ca­tions like clip inser­tion, trim­ming, assem­bly, and pack­ag­ing can also be com­plet­ed, offer­ing more flex­i­bil­i­ty. This allows end-users to accom­plish more with a sin­gle invest­ment. Some of KUKA’s mold­ing robots include the KR 30, KR 150 L 110K.

Fanuc’s In-Mold Innovations

Fanuc has inte­grat­ed in-mold label­ing work cells, where the robot pulls down labels into the injec­tion mold­ing machine, becom­ing a per­ma­nent com­po­nent of the part. Robots can also insert met­al or plas­tic parts into a machine for the mold­ing process. Some of Fanuc’s mold­ing robots include the F‑200iA RJ3iB, the M‑710iC/50T R30iA, and the R‑2000iB/​150U R30iA.

Robot­ic over-mold­ing merges two mate­ri­als to form one cohe­sive com­po­nent. Robots are fre­quent­ly used to over-mold auto­mo­tive tail-light lens­es, man­u­fac­tured by inject­ing dif­fer­ent col­or plas­tics into one machine. 

Advance­ments in Mold­ing: The Inte­gra­tion of Robotics

The Evo­lu­tion of Mold­ing Process­es with Robotics

Mold­ing, the man­u­fac­tur­ing process of shap­ing pli­able mate­ri­als using a rigid frame, has seen sig­nif­i­cant advance­ments with the inte­gra­tion of robot­ics. Com­mon mold­ing meth­ods like blow mold­ing, com­pres­sion mold­ing, injec­tion mold­ing, plas­tic mold­ing, and trans­fer mold­ing are now increas­ing­ly automated.

Diverse Appli­ca­tions of Robot­ics in Molding

In injec­tion mold­ing, robot­ics have become a game-chang­er. From load­ing com­po­nents to fin­ish­ing and assem­bling mold­ed parts, robots are enhanc­ing effi­cien­cy and pre­ci­sion. Six-axis artic­u­lat­ed robots, in par­tic­u­lar, are cru­cial for unload­ing and pro­cess­ing parts, as well as per­form­ing sec­ondary tasks such as in-mold dec­o­rat­ing and labeling.

Role of Robot­ics in Enhanc­ing Mold­ing Operations

Motoman’s Con­tri­bu­tion to Molding

Motoman’s robots, known for their ver­sa­til­i­ty, are ide­al for insert load­ing and work cells for trim­ming and debur­ring. They over­come the lim­i­ta­tions of sim­pler manip­u­la­tors, allow­ing for more oper­a­tions with­in a small­er foot­print. Key mod­els include the DA9IC NX100, HP3 NX100, and SDA20D DX100.

KUKA’s Mold­ing Automa­tion Solutions

KUKA’s robots are increas­ing­ly used for mold machine extrac­tion appli­ca­tions. They not only remove parts from the injec­tion mold­ing machines but also facil­i­tate sec­ondary oper­a­tions like clip inser­tion and pack­ag­ing. Robots like the KR 30 and KR 150 L 110K exem­pli­fy KUKA’s com­mit­ment to flex­i­ble, effi­cient mold­ing solutions.

Fanuc’s In-Mold Innovations

Fanuc has pio­neered in-mold label­ing work cells, where robots inte­grate labels direct­ly into the injec­tion mold­ing process. These robots can also insert met­al or plas­tic parts into machines for mold­ing, show­cas­ing mod­els like the F‑200iA RJ3iB and the R‑2000iB/​150U R30iA.

Advanced Appli­ca­tions of Robot­ic Molding

Robot­ic over-mold­ing, a process that merges two mate­ri­als into a sin­gle com­po­nent, is fre­quent­ly used in appli­ca­tions such as auto­mo­tive tail-light lens man­u­fac­tur­ing. Addi­tion­al­ly, robot­ic mold­ing work cells can per­form com­plex tasks like son­ic and laser weld­ing, sig­nif­i­cant­ly reduc­ing cycle times in the mold­ing industry.

Fur­ther, robot­ic mold­ing work cells can also per­form son­ic and laser weld­ing. The welder is placed on the end of a six-axis robot, which helps reduce cycle times, a cru­cial achieve­ment in the mold­ing industry. 

Robots​.com: Your Des­ti­na­tion for Mold­ing Robotics

Robots​.com pro­vides Inte­gra­tion-Ready Fanuc, KUKA, ABB, and Motoman mold­ing robots. Con­tact us today online or at 877−762−6881 for more information.

Get in Touch for Cus­tomized Mold­ing Solutions

For more infor­ma­tion on how robot­ic mold­ing can trans­form your man­u­fac­tur­ing process, con­tact Robots​.com. Our team is ready to assist you in select­ing the ide­al robot­ic sys­tem for your spe­cif­ic needs.