23044 - Sprue-cutting station

The machine is used to trim the sprue channels formed during injection moulding, and to inspect the quality of the cut using a mobile vision system.

Intended use of the machine

The main purpose of the machine is to remove excess material from lamps, which forms in the mould’s sprue channels during the casting process. Cutting is carried out using Teflon-coated blades heated to high temperatures.

The machine is designed to operate in an automatic cycle within a robotic cell.

It is equipped with safety features enabling manual operation by an operator.

The entire cutting module, i.e. the pallet and the blade plates, constitutes a single interchangeable tool. This allows the machine to be used with other parts, provided their shape and size are similar to the originals.

Description of operation:

Once the robot or operator has placed the workpieces into the slots and the cycle has been initialised, an automatic process consisting of the following operations is carried out:

checking that the lamps are correctly positioned in the tray, securing them in place, and moving to the working position;
rapid descent of the cutting module via a pneumatic cylinder;
cutting of the sprues via the movement of servo drives;
movement of the vision system over the cutting area and inspection of the cut;
return of the drawer to the home position, release of the lamp clamps.

Machine design

CUTTING MODULE

The cutting module is directly responsible for cutting the sprues of Lightbar lamps. It consists of two parts: a pallet and suspended plates with blades. The pallet features, amongst other things, workpiece sockets, sprue supports, counter-blades, locking cylinders and lamp presence sensors. Attached to the suspended plates are: cutting blades with heaters, cooling nozzles and spring-loaded sprue ejectors.

VISION SYSTEM

The correctness of the process is verified using a Keyence camera. After cutting, the lamps move to the inspection zone, where the device passes over the sprues, takes measurements and compares them with the set tolerance.

CONVEYOR FOR CUT SPRUES

A belt conveyor located beneath the machine is responsible for removing the cut sprues after cutting. The ingots are conveyed out of the machine and cell area and into a waste container. They reach the conveyor in a controlled manner – during cutting, they are ejected by springs and slide down stainless steel chutes by gravity.

OPERATOR PANEL

The control elements and 7" display allow the selection of the appropriate reference, monitoring of the process status, and control of the machine’s individual drives.

SAFETY LEVEL

In accordance with the customer’s guidelines and in compliance with the requirements of the PN-EN ISO 12100 standard, the machine is equipped (depending on the type of process being carried out) with a range of technical safety measures such as: an emergency stop switch, a light curtain and mesh guards.