Automated Flexible Robotic Sanding, Courtesy of Pioneer Industrial Systems

Automated Flexible Robotic Sanding FANUC's Authorized System Integrator, Pioneer Industrial Systems designed and built a flexible robotic sanding system for injection molded automotive and marine exterior trim moldings. The system was designed around their customer’s concern with the adaptability to change parts with ease, based on projects coming and going. Removable fixtures specific to each part and an operator HMI were utilized for easy job changeover with a minor maintenance change of swapping fixtures and job selection. The integration of a manual turn style table, equipped with two separate part fixtures allow for part load and unload, while keeping the operator out of the work cell and able to stage the next part. The fixturing is mounted to an automated rack and pinion system that flips the part during sanding pad changes to efficiently sand both sides of each trim molding without interruption. The tool incorporates pressure sensing technology while also providing a point of source dust containment with the addition of a dust collection system to maintain a safe environment and air quality. FANUC’s Dual Check Safety (DCS) package was installed in the robot to reduce the safety distance requirements around the robot cell by defining protective DCS zones around the robot's work envelope. Robot travel outside these safety zones creates an immediate stop. Automation helped the customer replace a labor-intensive manual operation with multiple safety concerns. The safety was improved by not having an operator directly present during the sanding process coupled with the point of source collection system, vastly improving air quality. The operator now is out of harm’s way, only stepping in to swap parts and change sanding pads as needed. PIONEER INDUSTRIAL SYSTEMS DESIGNS, BUILDS, AND SUPPORTS INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION & ROBOTICS pioneerindsys.com