Universal Hot Embedding – Highly Flexible & Short Cycle Times

Fully automatic heating and setting of bushings in a plastic support plate for e-mobility application.

The fully automatic assembly of plastic carrier plates with a glass fiber content of 60% is carried out in two independent stations. The part handling as well as the transfer to the neighboring station is realized by means of NC axes. This is the only way to create a highly precise starting position for the subsequent processing steps and to maintain the fast cycle time.

Hot innovation

Two stations that independently place inserts with high precision and accuracy.

In the first station, brass inserts are picked up from a defined transfer position by a sophisticated system of two setting/heating heads and heated up to 370°C during the travel time of 0.9 seconds. This allows the plastic to be melted and ensures a secure hold. The inserts are now alternately placed in the carrier plate in place in a fraction of a second.

A transfer from station one to station two is fully automated by a specially developed vacuum gripper design, which gently transports the component and places it back onto the special component fixture with a precise fit. In station two, steel bushings are picked up by means of magnetic holding force and then pressed into the respective positions. The evaluation of whether the setting process was successful takes place in real time.

Quality Check

Continuous testing takes place during the entire traversing and setting process.By monitoring the vacuum and insert during the traversing process, loss of the insert and resulting non-setting can be ruled out.In the second station, the steel insert is permanently monitored by a sensor up to the actual setting process.This always ensures that all inserts are set and guarantees the quality of the carrier plate.

Part buffer of the inserts

A highly innovative system of magazine tubes, for holding the inserts, is used in the plant. Ein Förderband transportiert die Röhrchen in die Vorvereinzelung, in der diese dann auf die Übergabeposition gebracht werden. Im Anschluss fallen die Inserts einzeln in die Abholposition und können vom Setzkopf abgeholt werden.

The whole thing can be accumulated up to a lead time of one hour, so that operators are only responsible for loading and unloading carrier plates.