A Nifty Bit of Automation
See video showing how this VMC acts as its own parts loader.
See video showing how this VMC acts as its own parts loader.
Last year, I visited Schunk’s facility in Morrisville, North Carolina. While there, Milton Guerry, head of the company’s U.S. operations, showed me a gripper Schunk had developed to enable its VMCs to act as their own parts loaders for producing toolholders. I wanted to get video of the gripper, but it was tough to get a good angle looking into the workzone. So we popped the access panel off the left side of the machine so I could get the footage shown here.
Schunk now offers this gripper to shops looking for a low-cost way to implement automation. Here’s a bit more about how the gripper works.
(No editors were harmed in the filming of this video.)
Related Content
-
Modern Bar Feeds Bring New Life to Automatic Swiss Lathes
Cam-actuated Swiss lathes are still the fastest way to process many parts. By adding modern bar feeders, this shop has dramatically improved their utilization with the ability to work unattended, even in a lights-out environment.
-
Inside the Premium Machine Shop Making Fasteners
AMPG can’t help but take risks — its management doesn’t know how to run machines. But these risks have enabled it to become a runaway success in its market.
-
Choosing a Five-Axis Machine Tool With Automation in Mind
While much focus is placed on the machinery that moves parts, the features most important for automating five-axis machining are arguably found in the machine tool itself.