Page 24 - MetalForming March 2023 - PMA Chairman Jeff Aznavorian
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   A three-robot lean cell at Clips & Clamps performs a series of value-added processes, including wire forming, cold heading, coining, piercing, stamping, resistance-spot welding and machine-vision inspection.
 Working in the pressroom of Sukup Mfg. is this robot used to destack 20-gauge steel blanks (using an embedded thickness gauge to confirm single-piece pickup) and place them in a 300-ton mechanical press. Following the press stroke, the robot removes the workpiece and places it in a hydraulic press for bending.
increasing customer demand for its grain-storage and-handling systems and equipment. One of the latest automation additions at the Sheffield, IA-based manufacturer: a Yaskawa Motoman robot that destacks blanks and tends to two stamping presses to produce flooring supports for use in grain-storage operations. The robot loads 20-gauge steel blanks into a 300- ton mechanical press for forming, unloads the formed part (now a tube section) and transfers it to a hydraulic press for bending.
The press-tending robot at Sukup, installed midway through 2021, auto- mates what had been three manual operations. The result was a 30-percent reduction in cycle time, and the firm was able to transition from three oper- ators to one, allowing it to redeploy two operators into other departments.
Joining us for the online event will be the firm’s chief marketing officer Matt Koch, who’ll provide additional details, and provide an update:
“The robotic press-tending appli- cation has worked so well that we are duplicating the setup at another com- pany location. And, we’re bringing Yaskawa Motoman back in to tap its expertise to assess further automation opportunities to gain uptime on the 300-ton mechanical press.” MF
tooling to enable the robot to repeatedly locate the parts. At first we over-con- strained the die, so the learning curve was discovering what needed to be con- strained to make the process work, and we were able to implement mechanical locators in the coin and pierce tooling running in the stamping press.”
Rice, along with company president Jeff Aznavorian and Tom Christofilis, founder and president of IP Automa-
tion, the system integrator that designed and built the cell, will sit with Lou and me to discuss the project, so get your questions ready!
Case Study 2:
Robotic Press Tending
When Lou met with the team at Sukup Manufacturing early in 2022, he learned how the company has been leveraging automation to meet rapidly
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