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Bungs arriving loose and randomly oriented in bins
An automotive supplier needed to machine and assemble two parts, caps and bungs, in one automated cell. Bungs arrive loose in bins, in random orientations. Each one has to be machined on a CNC lathe, washed, fitted with a plug that's torqued in place, and packed into totes. Caps need their own machining and packing. Done by hand, that's a lot of loading, unloading and handling between every step.
We built a two-robot cell that runs both part families from start to finish, using FANUC robots and SCHUNK grippers.
For bungs, a bin pick robot uses 3D vision to find parts in the bin, picks them at random and reorients each one for the lathe robot. The lathe robot uses a dual end-of-arm tool to tend an Okuma CNC, pulling the finished part and loading the next blank in a single motion. Finished bungs go through a parts washer, then to a plug insert fixture, where plugs are fed from a vibratory bowl and torqued into the bung automatically. The robot then places assembled bungs into totes.
Caps follow their own path. Blank caps are bowl fed to the lathe robot, which carries each one to the CNC, blows off the finished cap, swaps finished for blank, and places the finished cap in a tote.
The cell runs caps at a 25-second cycle and bungs at 110 seconds. From bin to tote, parts move through machining, washing, assembly and packing without manual handling between steps.
