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Final inspection and packaging

Brass fittings come in on trays and leave in cartons. On the way, a robot fits the o-ring, a camera measures every part, the rejects are sorted out and the good parts are packed. One operator keeps it running for hours.

Watch the machine
  1. A Cartesian gripper with the Robsen logo lifts a tray of brass fittings off the stack.
    01Trays come in
  2. A gripper sets a brass fitting at the o-ring station on the small rotary table.
    02O-ring fitted
  3. A gripper holds a brass fitting in front of a large telecentric lens.
    03Measured by camera
  4. The packing robot lowers a row of fittings into a carton.
    04Packed in cartons

A team’s work, in one machine

Before this machine, a team of seven fitted the o-rings, checked every fitting for surface defects, burrs, holes and threads, and packed them manually. Parts slipped through, and the quality depended on the day.

Each fitting is held up to the camera, one after another.
  1. 01

    Every part, every check

    Nothing is checked on a sample. Each fitting is measured and inspected before it may go into a carton.

  2. 02

    The same judgement all shift

    A camera does not tire. A part that passes at the start of the shift is judged the same way at the end.

  3. 03

    Rejects sorted by fault

    Parts that fail go into trays by type of fault, so you see at once what went wrong upstream.

  4. 04

    One operator

    The operator brings trays and takes the full cartons away. The machine does the rest.

From tray to carton

Fittings come from washing in trays. They leave checked, with their o-ring, in cartons ready to ship. Hover over a step to watch it.

  1. The tray robot lowers a full tray of fittings to the pick position.
    01Trays inA rack holds up to 50 trays, about 4,000 parts. A Cartesian robot brings each tray to the pick position.
  2. The SCARA gripper comes down over two full trays and takes a fitting.
    02PickedA SCARA robot takes the fittings from the tray, one by one.
  3. A gripper fits the o-ring on a fitting at the first station of the rotary table.
    03O-ringThe rotary table carries each fitting to the o-ring station.
  4. A gripper brings a fitting in front of the telecentric lens.
    04Measured and inspectedDimensions, surface, burrs, thread and the o-ring, through a telecentric lens. Parts that fail go into trays, sorted by fault.
  5. The yellow packing robot lowers a row of fittings into a carton.
    05PackedA second SCARA robot packs the good parts in cartons.
  6. The packing robot lays a separator over the first layer in the carton.
    06Second layerA separator goes on the full first layer, and the second layer on top.

Measured without touching

A telecentric lens sees the part without perspective: an edge measures the same whether the part sits a little nearer or farther.

  1. 01

    A sharp outline

    Lit from behind, the part shows a clean silhouette, and its dimensions are measured in the image.

  2. 02

    Burrs and surface

    The same camera looks for burrs, surface defects and the condition of the thread.

  3. 03

    Our own software

    IROVISION, the vision software we write ourselves, does the measuring and decides OK or not OK.

The small rotary table with its stations: the o-ring gripper, the telecentric lens and the lights.
The rotary table: o-ring, lens and lights. Hover to watch.
6×
Packing, seen from above.

Two cartons, never waiting

Two cartons stand side by side. While the robot fills one, the other is ready, so packing never stops for a carton change.

When the first layer is full, a vacuum gripper lays a separator on it, and the second layer goes on top.

The packing robot sets a row of fittings in the carton and swings back.
A row at a time.
From above: the packing robot over two cartons, one already holding fittings.
Two cartons, from above.

Seven hours with one operator

Empty cartons wait on a shelf of 25. A Cartesian robot takes an empty one to the packing robot and puts the full one back. With a full tray rack and a full shelf, the machine runs for up to seven hours; the operator refills it and takes the cartons away.

The carton robot at the shelf.
2×
The tray robot brings the next tray.
The tray robot’s gripper with the Robsen logo comes down onto two trays of fittings.
The tray gripper takes a full tray.
Two trays full of brass fittings at the pick position, the pick robot’s gripper coming over them.
Two trays at the pick position.

One platform, on one truck

Robots, rotary table, camera, tray rack and carton shelf sit on one base. The machine was built and tested at our plant and left on a standard trailer, in one piece.

The closed machine from outside: glass walls, the Robsen sign, the control panel on a post, and the carton shelf behind a light curtain on the right. 3,200 mm2,300 mm2,400 mm
The machine on its single base: 3,200 × 2,300 mm, 2,400 mm high.
  1. 01

    Plug and play

    Set it down, connect power and air, and it is ready to start.

  2. 02

    Fits a trailer

    The footprint was chosen so the whole machine travels on a standard truck trailer.

  3. 03

    Safe to work beside

    Glass walls all round; the carton shelf opens to the operator behind a light curtain.

A forklift lifts the crated machine onto a truck trailer.
Crated, onto the trailer.
In one piece, onto the truck.

What a machine like this takes

This machine fits, measures, sorts and packs every fitting, with several checks each, on a footprint that fits a trailer.

  1. 01

    Short cycles, hard problems

    Many parts, many checks, little time per part. We take on that kind of problem and design every move around the cycle your plant needs.

  2. 02

    SCARA robots near their limits

    We tune the moves, grippers and timing until the robots run close to what they can do, without slowing for the stations around them.

  3. 03

    Everything on one platform

    Feeding, assembly, joining, marking, inspection and packing fit on one base. It is built and tested at our plant and leaves as one piece.

  4. 04

    Vision we write ourselves

    IROVISION is our own software, written by our own team: matching, measuring, surface defects, fine measurements in the image, telecentric optics. When a check needs something new, we add it.

Gallery

The film of the machine in production, and a few more views of it.

Final inspection and packaging machineWatch on YouTube
A gripper moves a fitting between the stations of the rotary table.
Between the stations
The yellow SCARA robot swings over to the trays of fittings.
To the tray
The o-ring station and the rotary table, seen wide.
The o-ring station
The packing robot turns to a carton beside it.
The packing robot
The pick robot and the measuring stations, a tray of fittings in front.
Pick and measure
A forklift carries the crated machine out of our hall.
Out of our hall

The machine in brief

Application
O-ring assembly, final inspection and packaging
Solution
Assembly and Quality Control
Parts
Brass water fittings
Robots
Two SCARA robots, two Cartesian robots
Feeding
Up to 50 trays, about 4,000 parts
Inspection
Telecentric lens, backlight, IROVISION
Checks
Dimensions, surface, burrs, thread, o-ring
Rejects
Sorted by fault into trays
Packing
Cartons, two layers with a separator
Running alone
Up to 7 hours, one operator
Footprint
3,200 × 2,300 mm, 2,400 mm high, one platform

Before: machine tending with IROCUBE

Fittings are machined first, then come here to be checked and packed.

Also: safety seal assembly

Eight stations on one rotary table: clips, plugs, welding, marking and a camera at every step.

Also: valve assembly and testing

Three parts joined, two screws torqued, a leak test through the full travel, a code on every valve.

Questions we are asked

Which parts can it take?

It was built for brass water fittings. Parts of a similar size and shape can follow the same path. Send us your parts and their drawings, and we will tell you how they would be fed, checked and packed.

What does the camera check?

The dimensions, the surface, burrs, the thread and whether the o-ring is there. The checks are set per part, in IROVISION, our own vision software.

What happens to a part that fails?

It goes into a reject tray, sorted by the fault that was found, and never reaches a carton.

How long does it run on its own?

Up to seven hours, with a full tray rack and a full shelf of 25 cartons. One operator refills it and takes the cartons away.

How fast is it?

Fast enough to replace the manual line it was built for. The cycle depends on the part and on the checks it needs; send us yours and we will tell you the cycle for it.

How is it delivered?

In one piece, on its own base, on a standard truck trailer. It is built and tested at our plant first.

Send us your part

Every machine starts with the part. Send us your parts or their drawings, what has to be fitted and checked, and how they should be packed, and we will work out the machine with you.

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