Robotics for beginners

Automation expertise is not required to bring a robot into your shop.

That’s one of the main selling points of LoadMate Plus, a robot cell for machine tool tending. LoadMate Plus will fit nicely into machining operations even if knowledge about robots is lacking and money for new hires is tight, said Rob Brodecki, services product manager at Vernon Hills, Illinois-based Mitsubishi Electric Automation Inc., which developed the cell with input from the company’s “diamond partner system integrator,” Absolute Machine Tools Inc. in Lorain, Ohio.

“A lot of times (shops) are short on staff and looking to automate, but finding a robot programmer can be difficult or costly,” he said. LoadMate Plus “fits a lot of job shops and smaller-to-medium-size manufacturers that might not have the budget to go out and hire somebody new to handle the robots.”

Suitable for use with a variety of machines, including mills, lathes and drilling/tapping equipment, LoadMate Plus also is billed as a tool that will boost production at high-mix, low-volume machine shops and free up operators by automating the task of loading and unloading parts from a machine tool.

“You can have it running when you don’t have people scheduled to be working,” Brodecki said. “Or if you do have people who would normally be scheduled for (a particular) time, you can make them more efficient by moving them to other tasks that a robot couldn’t do.”

The LoadMate Plus cell is designed to make it easier for shops lacking automation experience to incorporate robotic part loading and unloading into their operations. Image courtesy of Mitsubishi Electric Automation

Besides allowing machines to run unattended, he pointed out that LoadMate Plus keeps production going at a consistent pace, unlike processes dependent on humans, who sometimes slow down or stop loading and unloading entirely to take a break.