May 2024 Volume 6

AUTOMATION

building a material handling system that offers near perfect billet delivery and satisfies some of industry’s most frequently asked for needs. Two system features requested often from manufacturers are the following: #1 - Reduce the overall size or footprint required for a material handling line. #2 - Reduce the step-up time required to change billet sizes, as often the change in billets from one size to the other requires a lengthy setup or changeover. There is a large demand here as this industry is always looking for ways to minimize or eliminate the time a cell is nonproductive. One exciting emerging technology that satisfies both above require ments is the use of a robot with billet picking capabilities paired with a 3D vision system. This concept was shown operating as the Pickit 3D solution was demonstrated in LASCO's booth at last year’s Forge Fair.

Step 2: Guiding Billets Through the Vibratory Feeder and Bowl Feeder Driven by motors, the vibratory feeder channels the billets into the bowl feeder. Here, a robust level sensor ensures optimal billet levels, preventing both starvation and overloading. The bowl feeder aligns the billets along their central axis, preparing them for the next phase of the journey. Step 3: Transitioning onto a Gravity Roller Conveyor The aligned billets are transferred onto the gravity roller conveyor, which serves as a conduit for their onward journey. Equipped with adjustable guidance elements, this conveyor ensures the maintenance of billet alignment throughout the traversal, ensuring smooth prog ress towards the next stage. Step 4: Feeding into the Pinch Roller and Induction Heater A powered chain conveyor takes charge, feeding the billets into the pinch roller, which guarantees a constant supply to the induc tion heater. The pinch roller, with its knurled rolls and pneumatic clamping, facilitates smooth billet feeding, essential for uninter rupted heating. Step 5: Ensuring Smooth Progression Through the Pinch Roll The pinch roll, a critical component in the induction heating process, maintains a continuous flow of billets into and through the induc tion heater. Equipped with knurled rolls for enhanced friction and a v-roller to center the billets, pinch rolls ensure efficient feeding and optimal performance. Step 6: Transition to a Powered Roller or Chain Driven Conveyor System Upon exiting the induction heater, the heated billets are received by a powered roller system, which facilitates their transition to the next stage of the process. This system is often designed with centering rollers equipped with a breaker roll to ensure the smooth extraction and separation of billets from the heater. Step 7: Conveyance Through the Gravity Roller Conveyor The billets progress along the gravity roller conveyor, which serves to transmit them away from the induction feeder and drop them verti cally to the correct height for feeding into the press. Often equipped with a pyrometer and powered rejection weir, this conveyor diverts any rejected billets off the main path, ensuring seamless operation and minimizing disruptions. Step 8: Final Conveyance Via the Second Chain Conveyor At the outlet of the gravity roller conveyor, a second chain conveyor takes charge, driving the billets to a suitable position for the press operator or robot. This conveyor completes the journey, delivering the billets to their destination with efficiency and precision. The material handling process in forging represents innovation and efficiency. From the loading of billets into the bin tipper to their final conveyance via the chain conveyor, each step is meticulously designed to ensure a seamless flow of materials and optimize the forging process. There are many design challenges encountered while designing and

Figure 1: The Pickit 3D Vision Solution This robotic arm/vision system concept uses a robotic arm guided by a vision system to pick billets from bins and place them onto feedlines behind pinch rollers. This sophisticated approach replaces the need for cumbersome equipment such as bin tippers, vibratory bowls, shaker tables, and gravity feeders, eliminating the need for a least the first three large pieces of equipment described in the typical system above. Induction companies continue to integrate advances in automation, like robotic arms guided by 3D vision systems, into their customized material handling solutions for the forging industry. Entire custom material handling solutions like this controlled at a central HMI not only enhance productivity but also ensure consistent quality. By eliminating manual interventions and reducing human error, automation streamlines operations and minimizes variability in the forging process. Successful integration strategies rely on robust communication networks and interoperable systems.

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