Robotic Handling Raises
Sawing Productivity
Volker Bühler, group manager for robotics at
German sawing machine and storage system
manufacturer, Kasto, describes the widening
choice of automation systems on offer to
minimise labour costs and increase production
output from the company’s circular sawing
and bandsawing machines. The production
solutions are available in the UK and Ireland
through the firm’s subsidiary in Milton Keynes.
Industrial robots make production more flexible and
efficient, from batch sizes of one to large volumes.
They also improve working conditions for operators
and can significantly reduce costs in stock holding
and manufacturing operations. More and more,
operators of sawing systems are automating them
with robots, as they are fast, reliable, precise and
if necessary can work continuously 24 hours a day
without human intervention.
Robotic systems are taking over numerous process
steps following sawing, starting with removal
of the cut pieces, continuing through deburring,
chamfering, measuring and marking and on to
weighing, sorting and stacking on pallets or in
containers. The parts can be transferred to a
driverless transport system and taken elsewhere in a
warehouse or factory.
Automation starts with material feeding.
Stock to be cut can be supplied to a
machine by means of a roller conveyor or
magazine, for example, sparing workers
the effort of lifting and reducing the risk of
injuries. Depending on how it is equipped,
the sawing machine can run attended, with
the control system holding all parameters
of a job including material diameter, band
speed, rate of downfeed, cut length and
number of parts.
Mr Bühler commented, “In complex
processes involving numerous work steps,
we use combinations of different robots,
grippers and other end effectors.
“When large quantities of material with
only a few different component geometries
are sawn, it is relatively easy to automate
the downstream processes.
14 TUBE NEWS June 2018