ABB Robotics will feature its Robotic Gear Handling Cell technology at Gear Expo 2015 (Oct. 20–22, Cobo Center in Detroit, MI).

 

The cell is used to transfer gears between alloy trays and baskets in the heat treatment process that transforms “green” gears into “hard” gears, replacing the manual handling processes employed in many heat treat operations. It flexibly handles multiple gear styles and sizes and is suited for a variety of power transmission operations ranging from large commercial, military and industrial vehicles, to automobiles, marine craft, recreational vehicles and lawn and garden equipment.

The ABB Robotic Gear Handling Cell is designed to improve system performance and uptime where the heat treating process is constantly changing the alloy tray conditions over time. The primary features of the cell include: an IRB360 FlexPicker high speed material handling robot to minimize cycle time; a Flexible Servo Gripper that allows the handling of multiple gear sizes and styles with a single gripper; a Vision Guidance System to capture accurate gear and alloy locations for transfer of gears between alloy trays and baskets; an ABB SoftMove technology, which adds compliance to the robot gripper during picking or placing of gears to compensate for warped or bent alloy trays.