Sorting parts on a conveyor
Our customer, the Sept-Fons site of the STELLANTIS group - a foundry specializing in the manufacture of brake parts, needed to locate and sort brake disks and drums leaving the furnace on a conveyor at high temperature (over 700°C) and in a very hostile environment, full of visual nuisances (sand, dirt, hidden parts, etc.).
Identification solution
Automatic location and sorting of high-temperature castings
We proposed a robust, heat-resistant system consisting of three robots and three fixed Cirrus3D conveyor sensors (one near each robot), and artificial intelligence.
The result is an integrated solution capable of sorting 1,000 parts per hour in a non-deterministic environment, identifying and sorting them fluidly into different bins according to model.
An insulated cooling system has been installed for each sensor to ensure optimal operation in this type of environment.
Challenges
- Locate and sort parts at high temperatures (over 700°C).
- Identify different types of parts despite visual nuisances (sand, dirt, hidden parts, etc.).
- Ability to work in a hostile environment when leaving the oven.
- Ability of robots to route parts to the right bins according to part type.
Solution
Installation of a robust, heat-resistant system comprising three robots and three fixed Cirrus3D linear 1500 (one near each robot).
Results
- Smooth identification and sorting of parts.
- Waste and nuisance management on the conveyor.
- Deposit parts in different bins according to model.
- Furnace output cycle time is kept.
- 1000 parts sorted per hour.