CBW to debut robot that reduces damage on injection-molded components

“The thin-walling trend does not appear to be slowing,”​ Robert Harvey, CBW’s VP of sales & marketing, told FoodProductionDaily. “Thin walling makes containers that are extremely delicate, so you need a delicate process to remove them from the mold.”​

Using multipack yogurt cups as an example, Harvey explained that CBW Automation’s high-flow vacuum system holds the cups in place when the mold opens. Then a strip stroke helps to gently remove them from the mold.

“When the part leaves the mold, the machine has to hand the part to the next point in the system​,” Harvey said. “There’s a slight vacuum between the part and the mold, so it can be a challenge to remove the part from the mold without damaging it.”​

Complexity

In addition to significantly reducing potential damage to injection-molded components, the machine allows the robot to follow the motion of the mold. That is particularly helpful, Harvey said, when the molds in question are unscrewing molds or more complex types of injection molds.

Harvey said some systems that use a suction cup to retrieve a finished part require one motion toward the plastic part and another motion away from the part. In such systems, motion, time and energy are wasted.

“The SSE uses both opportunities to go toward the mold, which saves time and energy versus by eliminating the pulling away,” ​Harvey explained.

The high-flow vacuum promotes productivity with an intrusion time of less than 0.5 seconds, he said. “That translates to higher throughput.”​

The SSE robot comes fully tested, has solid steel frame construction and PC-based control platform that allows remote diagnostics and troubleshooting. CBW will debut the robot at this year’s National Plastics Expo, March 23-27 in Orlando, Florida.