Gimatic: One Gripper, Two Challenges, Unmatched Efficiency

Challenge:
A very famous automotive manufacturer needed a single gripper solution for their production line.
They required the gripper to perform two distinct tasks:
* High-precision extraction and cutting of delicate products: This involved carefully extracting products from molds without damaging them and precisely cutting attached sprues.
* Cutting of high-hardness products: This demanded a robust and powerful cutting system for tougher materials.
Traditional limitations:
Typically, achieving both delicate handling and forceful cutting would require separate grippers, disrupting production flow and increasing costs.

Gimatic’s Solution:
Leveraging our expertise in product innovation and customized gripper design, Gimatic devised a unique solution.
A single, versatile EOAT gripper: This innovative gripper could be seamlessly switched between two operating modes:
* Delicate mode: This mode used specialized fingers to gently extract and cut sprues on fragile products.
* Powerful mode: This mode activated a stronger cutting mechanism for handling high-hardness materials.
The actual application is that after the product is removed by the EOAT, the collaborative robots will cut the less precise sprue while EOAT still holding the product. After the EOAT released the product at the cutting station, the sprue that needs more precise requirements will be cut at the station.
* Collaborative robots for sprue cutting: For the delicate mode, the gripper worked in tandem with two robots in corporation, ensuring precise control and maneuverability during the cutting process.
* Cutting stations for high-hardness products: For the powerful mode, the gripper seamlessly integrated with cutting stations, providing the necessary force for handling tougher materials.

Benefits:
* Increased efficiency: By eliminating the need for separate grippers, Gimatic’s solution streamlined production and reduced changeover times.
* Enhanced flexibility: The single gripper could adapt to various product types, offering greater production versatility.
* Reduced costs: The need for additional grippers and their associated maintenance was eliminated, leading to significant cost savings.
* Unwavering production stability: Gimatic’s reliable design and support ensured consistent performance throughout the production cycle.
Gimatic’s innovation demonstrates the power of a „same gripper, two different product” approach. By combining expertise in product innovation and customized design, Gimatic provides solutions that empower manufacturers to achieve new levels of efficiency and flexibility.
– GIMATIC AUTOMATION ENGINEERING (Changshu) CO., LTD.

Pick & Place shiny polycarbonate part without leaving mark

When you are working with shiny surfaces, it is very important not to leave mark on the surface. The mark can be invisible at first, but after coating process the suction cup marks can be visible on the surface as a ring shape.

Gimatic vacuum division has perfect solution for this kind of surfaces, Silicone foam ring suction cup. The texture of silicone foam doesn’t generate any kind of mark on the surface. Gimatic Iberia realized a Non-Marking EOAT with foam ring suction cups. Generating customer confidence in our products and solutions, which postulates us as a solution provider and not just components, establishing a lasting relationship. Gimatic has proper components and well experienced team to deal these problems daily inhouse and on site.

– GIMATIC IBERIA, S.L.

Collaboration between Gimatic and Jaka

We got the opportunity to show Gimatic solutions in a collaboration with Jaka cobot. Cobot can make a quick change between tools with Gimatic EQC electric driven automatic tool changer.

There are six different tools to present six different applications.

MFD/MFU Expansion grippers for Packaging Industry Application
PB small grippers for 3C Industry Application
SGP mini parallel grippers for Inserting Application
PT Needle gripper for Textile Application
OFP One finger grippers
MPTM Electric gripper for Food Industry Application

– GIMATIC CHINA, S.L.

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Solution for a mobile palletizing cell for the wine industry

Our customer INGETECH which developed a turnkey solution for a mobile palletizing cell for the wine industry. They needed a vacuum system which helps to move boxes up to 10 kg containing wine bottles. The vacuum system had to be designed to ensure a safe grip during movements compensating the leaks due to product porosity and the moments caused by its low center of gravity with respect to the base. The components needed to be compact and fit with the available space and to be as light as possible in order to leave the payload capacity of the robot for the handled products. GIMATIC provided the vacuum system with suction cups and a high flow vacuum generator. Ingetech Robotics, focused on the design and manufacture of compact palletizing cells, has found in GIMATIC a reliable and trustworthy technological partner that ensures continuous technical advice to provide you with the best solutions for your turnkey projects.

– GIMATIC IBERIA, S.L.

EOAT NOVARES

Special cutting station for plastic parts for automotive

Gimatic delivers many sprue cutting stations every year as well as EOATs, all over the world.

Sprue cutting process can be on the EOAT before placing parts on the conveyor, or sprue cutters can be placed on the conveyor and parts can be carried to the cutters by the same robot which is used for picking parts from injection machine. Sometimes it may not be possible with these two methods. In this case it is necessary to add another process for sprue cutting by creating a dedicated cutting station.
Gimatic Romania has designed a special cutting station for Novares which is a manufacturer of plastic parts for automotive.
It is important to realize supports with precise machining to fix parts correctly and to guarantee staying inside tolerances. Creating soft touch and non marking surfaces help us not to damage plastic parts. Detecting parts and sensors to monitor system, safety barriers to get operators work safe and many other factors let us reach the success.
– GIMATIC SISTEME RO SRL

EOAT for picking parts from injection molding with 8 cavities

EOAT for picking parts from injection molding with 8 cavities

The customer is producing tiny parts which are falling down from the mold after the opening. The challenge was picking them from the correct position without damaging. It was not possible to use suction cups or standard sprue grippers. We have realized a creative solution with 3D printer. Using assembly holes on our standard parallel gripper GS, we have assembled centering pins to the gripper body as a support to the gripper fingers. Then we design special fingers to fix the part between support and fingers. Finally, we were able to pick and place the part without any deformation on the surface since our solution has given the opportunity to be in contact with the part surface from a small area and during limited time.
– GIMATIC CZECH REPUBLIC S.R.O

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KIT ASSITA by GJP “collaborative” look and modular 3D fingers

The customer was looking for a gripper with a „collaborative” aspect , easy to install and use. They also wanted to be able to manipulate different objects with the same fingers.
They found our gripper MPLM2535P interesting, but they wanted to have a different exterior design and customize the finger design as well.

We offer the customer the possibility to manipulate objects with different morphologies with the same finger designed in 3D.
Simplicity of installation and control, within 5 minutes the Costumer had it installed and working.

– GIMATIC IBERIA, S.L.

Coster Case History

High speed electric grippers for assembly machines

Coster is a producer of cosmetics and health devices. They wanted to avoid pneumatic circuit on the gripping systems of the assembly machines. They were looking for simple solutions.
At the beginning they checked the standard electric gripper solution. But they immediately understand that the standard grippers were too slow (1 Hz) for the application since the cycle of their machines are very fast.
Gimatic started to study a new solution to make a faster gripper. After few technical changes, Gimatic created the faster electric gripper MPPM1606V with 2 Hz frequency.
Gimatic is the only one who can provide them a Plug & play compact electric gripper with 2Hz Frequency.
-GIMATRADE

IMG_3154

EOAT for IML of conical bucket

Customer needed to insert in the mold two big labels to decorate by IML process of a conical bucket. The 2 labels of 180º each are covering together the 360º of the bucket external side. At the same time the EOAT has to take off the finished part from the opposite side of the mold.
End customer has a trust in project members by his previous experience.
Together with CAROTEX, Gimatic Spain designed the plastic jig with the necessary number of electrodes to leave the labels fixed inside the mold without wrinkles as well as the vacuum circuit to hold the labels on the Jig. The EOAT include a rotary actuator so that the operator can load each label from the upper side.
Gimatic RT-35 rotary actuator, MFI profiles & brackets and suction cups are used on this project.
End customer already knew Gimatic Plastic components and has very good opinion of the brand. Carotex valued in Gimatic Iberia the know how about how to design Plastic Injection mold extraction EOATs & integrate IML solution in it. The excellent cooperation between Gimatic, expert in Plastic EOAT, and Carotex, expert in IML solutions, led to a joint offer which convinced the customer.
-GIMATIC IBERIA S.L

Case history CN 12-2020

Steel sheet inserted plastic injection production

The customer requests EOAT with two cavities. One side of the plastic parts has to be rotated, clipped and checked on the EOAT during robot movement. Using a combination of linear, angular and other actuators, with the help of the 3D printing service it was possible to do the clipping and checking of the parts on the EOAT. Following Gimatic products are used on the EOAT; for gripping the parts OFR-G finger gripper, for linear movement OFB guided cylinders, for angular movement OFN tilt unit, for checking and gripping custom 3D printed parts are used on OFN tilt units. With Gimatic central 3D printer service, it is possible to track and replicate custom parts. This project has been possible with wide range of Gimatic components. Customer has reduced his process time by automatically picking plastic parts in meantime clipping and checking it on the EOAT during part transfer from mold to conveyor.
-GIMATIC AUTOMATION ENGINEERING (CHANGSHU) CO., LTD