What should the plastic bucket manufacturer pay attention to when installing the injection picking manipulator?

When installing the plastic bucket manipulator, the plastic bucket manufacturer should combine the characteristics of the injection molding machine, the production technology of the plastic bucket (such as bucket size, weight and production rhythm) and workshop safety specifications, and control the whole process from preliminary preparation, installation accuracy, debugging and adaptation, safety protection to later maintenance. The specific precautions can be divided into the following six core modules:

First, preliminary preparation: match the production demand and avoid the "mismatch risk"

Before installation, it is necessary to make clear the adaptability of the manipulator to the production scene of injection molding machine and plastic bucket, so as to avoid the increase of the later reconstruction cost;

Load and stroke matching

The weight of plastic buckets (especially industrial buckets over 20L) is usually 1-5kg, so it is necessary to select a manipulator with a rated load ≥ 1.2 times the actual workpiece weight (the weight of grab fixture is reserved) to avoid the deformation of the manipulator caused by long-term overload.

Confirm that the stroke of the manipulator covers the opening and closing range of the mold of the injection molding machine: the transverse direction should exceed the width of the mold (to prevent the mold from colliding when taking the parts), the longitudinal direction should meet the distance of "taking out the workpiece and transferring it to the cooling rack/conveyor belt", and the vertical stroke should be adapted to the mold opening height of the injection molding machine.

Fixture customized to fit barrel type

Customize the grab fixture according to the plastic bucket structure (open/closed, round/square bucket, with or without handle):

Pneumatic gripper+non-slip rubber pad is preferred for the drum (to avoid damaging the drum wall and ensure the grasping stability);

Thin-walled barrels need to increase the contact area of jaws (to prevent deformation), or adopt vacuum sucker fixture (to confirm the flatness of barrel mouth/barrel body to avoid air leakage).

Workshop layout planning

Space reserved for manipulator installation: there are no obstacles (such as hoppers, cooling fans and workshop columns) within the rotation radius of the manipulator, and a safe distance of ≥1.5m is maintained from the operator passage.

Confirm the installation of ground bearing: the installation base of the medium-sized injection picking manipulator (with a load of 5-10kg) should bear ≥500kg/㎡ corresponding to the ground, so as to avoid ground settlement and manipulator deviation caused by long-term operation.

Second, the installation accuracy: control the core benchmark to avoid "running deviation"

The manipulator for taking parts for injection molding should be "precisely coordinated" with the injection molding machine, and the installation should be strictly aligned with the benchmark, otherwise it will easily lead to the failure of taking parts and mold collision;

Benchmark alignment: centering on the mold of injection molding machine

The mounting base of the manipulator should be level with the workbench of the injection molding machine (the error is less than or equal to ≤0.1mm/m/m when detected by a level meter), so as to avoid the deviation of the picking position caused by the inclination of the manipulator during operation.

The "picking origin" of the manipulator should be aligned with the center of the mold cavity: through the calibration of the laser locator, it is ensured that the deviation between the center of the fixture and the center of the barrel is ≤1mm when the manipulator descends to pick up the workpiece (excessive deviation will lead to the clamping jaw hitting the mold or missing the grip).

Fixation and reinforcement: anti-vibration and loosening

The mounting base is fixed with expansion bolt and embedded steel plate (the bolt specification should match the weight of the manipulator, such as M16 or above expansion bolt for 10kg manipulator), and the bolt should be coated with locking glue (to avoid the bolt loosening caused by vibration of the injection molding machine).

Positioning pins should be installed at the joint between the mechanical arm and the base to ensure that there is no displacement after long-term operation (the production rhythm of plastic barrels is usually 15-30 seconds/module, and it is easy to accumulate deviation during high-frequency operation).

Three, electrical and signal docking: to ensure "coordination and stability", to prevent downtime.

The manipulator needs to realize signal linkage with injection molding machine, conveyor belt, cooling system and other equipment, and electrical docking is the key:

Signal protocol matching

Confirm the signal compatibility between the manipulator controller and the PLC of the injection molding machine (common protocols such as MODBUS and Profinet), and realize the linkage of "the injection molding machine opens the mold in place → the manipulator starts to pick up the parts" and "the manipulator picks up the parts → the injection molding machine closes the mold" to avoid the production interruption caused by the signal delay.

Additional reserved signal interface: If "workpiece detection (whether it is successfully grabbed)" and "cooling completion signal" are added later, I/O ports should be reserved in the controller in advance.

Wiring specification: anti-interference, anti-wear

The power line (such as servo motor line) of the manipulator is wired separately from the signal line (the distance is not less than ≥30cm), so as to avoid the false triggering of the signal caused by electromagnetic interference of the power line (such as misjudging "completion of picking").

Cables in the trajectory of the mechanical arm need to be protected by dragging chains (especially in vertical movement and rotation parts) to avoid long-term friction and damage of cables (there may be oil pollution in the plastic bucket production workshop, so oil-resistant dragging chains should be selected).

4. Debugging and trial operation: simulate production scenes and eliminate hidden dangers.

Debugging needs to be carried out in stages, from single-action testing to full-process simulation, to ensure that it is suitable for the production rhythm of plastic barrels:

Uniaxial motion test

Debug the X/Y/Z axis and rotating shaft of the manipulator independently, and make sure that each axis runs smoothly (no jamming or abnormal noise) and the travel limit is accurate (for example, when the "lateral maximum travel" triggers the hard limit, the motor stops immediately to avoid over-travel collision).

Grasping accuracy debugging

Manually put the plastic bucket into the mold cavity, start the manipulator to grab it, and observe whether the fixture is accurately aligned;

If the gripper is offset, fine-tune the coordinates of the "picking origin" of the manipulator;

If the barrel inclines after grabbing, adjust the angle of the clamp (for example, fine-tune the angle between the clamping jaw and the barrel wall from 90 to 85 to increase stability).

Whole process beat adaptation

Debugging according to the actual production rhythm (e.g. 20s/module): Record the total time of "taking parts → transferring parts → releasing parts". If it exceeds 10s, optimize the movement path (e.g. shorten the lateral movement distance) or increase the running speed of the servo motor (within the rated speed).

Continuous trial operation of 100 molds: check whether there are problems such as "missing grip", "barrel deformation" and "mold collision", and record the load of each axis of the manipulator (such as whether the servo motor current is stable) to avoid long-term high-load operation.

V. Safety protection: conform to workshop specifications and prevent personal injury.

There are many people in the plastic bucket production workshop, so it is necessary to strengthen the safety protection measures of the manipulator:

Physical protection: set up safety fence and interlock.

Install a safety fence (height ≥1.2m) around the work area of the manipulator, and install a "safety interlock switch" on the fence door-the manipulator will stop running immediately when the door is opened (even if it is in the process of picking up parts), so as to prevent people from straying into the dangerous area.

Install photoelectric sensor (such as grating) in the mold area: If a person's hand reaches into the mold when taking a part, the sensor will trigger an emergency stop to prevent clamping injury.

Emergency mechanism: ensure quick shutdown.

Emergency stop buttons (red, with a diameter of ≥40mm) should be set near the manipulator controller panel, the operation platform of injection molding machine and the fence, and the emergency stop signal should directly cut off the power supply of the manipulator (instead of just suspending the control signal).

Formulate emergency procedures: If the manipulator is stuck (the barrel body is stuck between the mold and the gripper), it is necessary to press the emergency stop first, and then manually dismantle the workpiece. It is forbidden to forcibly break the manipulator in the running state.

VI. Post-maintenance: prolong service life and reduce failures.

As a high-frequency operation equipment, regular maintenance of manipulator can avoid sudden shutdown affecting the production of plastic barrels;

Periodic lubrication: customize the cycle according to the parts.

Mechanical arm joints (such as rotating shaft bearings): lithium-based grease (temperature-20~120℃, suitable for workshop environment) is filled once a week;

Servo motor bearing: replace the grease once every 6 months (choose the brand matching the motor model, such as NSK LR3 lithium grease);

Clamp cylinder: check the tightness of pneumatic components every month. If there is air leakage, replace the sealing ring in time (choose oil-resistant material, such as nitrile rubber).

Regular inspection: focus on the inspection of wearing parts.

Weekly inspection: the anti-skid pad of the clamping jaw (whether the gripping force is reduced due to wear), the cable in the towing chain (whether it is damaged) and the limit switch (whether it is loose);

Check every 3 months: base bolt (whether it is loose) and servo motor encoder (whether it is dusty and needs to be cleaned with compressed air);

Calibration every year: positioning accuracy of manipulator (detected by laser interferometer, if the deviation exceeds 0.2mm, re-calibrate the parameters of each axis).

Personnel training: avoid misoperation

Train the operators: master "manual operation (such as manually adjusting the picking position)" emergency stop use "and" simple troubleshooting (such as checking whether the suction cup leaks when it is missed) ";

Non-professionals are forbidden to modify manipulator parameters (such as servo motor speed and travel limit), and the controller needs to be password protected.

summary

The core of installing the manipulator for plastic bucket manufacturers is "adaptability+accuracy+safety"-matching the load and bucket type in the early stage, controlling the installation and debugging accuracy in the middle stage, and strengthening safety and maintenance in the later stage. Through the standardized operation of the whole process, not only can the production efficiency of plastic barrels be improved (for example, 20% time loss of manual picking up parts can be reduced), but also the risk of mold damage and personal injury can be reduced, so as to meet the needs of large-scale production.