Robot Automation
Batch Process Machine Tending
Five FANUC foundry robots load and unload overseas-built batch process machines, replacing tedious manual handling.
CLIENT
INDUSTRY
SOLUTION
DURATION
The Challenge
The customer purchased 12 batch process machines from an overseas builder. The machines did their job, but every part had to be loaded and unloaded by hand: heavy, repetitive, tedious work that tied up team members on every shift and capped how much the machines could produce. To get the full return on that investment, the plant needed a robot system that could tend the machines around the clock, track every part, and change the way the department ran.
Key Requirements
- Load and unload batch process machines with no manual handling
- Pick randomly placed parts from an infeed conveyor
- Read each part ID and verify orientation before loading
- Buffer parts between zones and set aside samples
- Deliver finished parts to an exit conveyor
- Guard every robot zone for safe access and recovery
- Run 24/7 at high OA
The ICR Solution
ICR designed and built a two-zone batch process machine tending line around five FANUC R-2000iC foundry robots. Parts arrive on a pick conveyor, where a FANUC 3D area sensor locates each one so the first robot can pick it without fixed positioning. Robots with ICR-manufactured end-of-arm tooling (EOAT), each fitted with a laser presence sensor, move parts in and out of the batch process machines in sequence. Between zones, a transfer station reads the part ID and a vision camera confirms orientation before handing off. A part hotel buffers and sets aside parts, and a three-zone exit conveyor carries finished parts out. Each zone has its own control panel skid, operator station and guarding. The line was fully built and tested at ICR before installation.
Equipment & Technology
- 5 FANUC R-2000iC FoundryPRO robots
- FANUC 3D area sensor on the pick conveyor
- ICR-manufactured EOAT with laser sensing
- Transfer station with ID reader and vision camera
- Part hotel buffer
- Pick and exit conveyors
- PLC with touchscreen HMI per zone
- Zone control panel skids and safety guarding
Scope of Work
- Up-Front Engineering
- Layout and Simulation
- Mechanical Design
- End-of-Arm Tooling
- Controls Design
- Panel Build
- Robot and Vision Programming
- PLC/HMI Programming
- Full Build and Test at ICR
- Installation
- Commissioning
Results
This is a flagship ICR project and a direct hit to the customer’s bottom line. Robots now load and unload the process machines around the clock, team members are off the tedious manual handling, and every part is identified and tracked through the line. The plant gets the full return on its overseas equipment investment, and the system changed the way the department does business.