Robot rollout: Inspection Efficiency

As part of a move into automation, a company widely known for making tool grinding machines is offering a pair of innovative robotic systems from two Japan-based firms.

Rollomatic Inc. in Mundelein, Illinois, a subsidiary of Swiss manufacturer Rollomatic SA, is selling an automated handling system from Omron and an industrial humanoid robot from Kawada Robotics Corp.

Besides alleviating labor shortage problems, the systems help “minimize the burden of tasks that can be automated and free up minds to handle the sort of tasks that only humans can complete at this time,” said Cole Marrinan, applications engineer at Rollomatic Inc.

Known as SmartMoMa, the Omron system consists of an automatically guided vehicle, or AGV, and an intelligent six-axis robotic arm. Capable of maneuvering autonomously in a production environment, the system can load and unload parts without human intervention. The system also allows automatic movement of tool cassettes between different grinding machines, as well as eventual transportation to post-grinding stations for tasks, such as measuring, laser marking, cleaning, packaging and labeling.

Rollomatic is providing Omron’s SmartMoMa handling system to customers interested in automation. Image courtesy of Rollomatic

As it moves around on a shop floor, the AGV “doesn’t need fencing, magnetic strips or anything else to guide it along a set path,” Marrinan said. “It can roam from one station to another on a path that you create, but also interact with moving objects on that path. So you don’t necessarily need light curtains or something of that sort. It can sense pedestrians and stop and let them pass.”

The system pairs the AGV with an Omron TM arm that can use specific gripping systems for different handling applications.