For many years, Affolter Pignons—a Swiss supplier of watch parts and division of the Affolter Group—employed specially trained staff to undertake the monotonous task of manually handling a wide variety of precision parts in the polishing/burnishing process.
The company decided the time had come to automate this trade. A highly flexible solution offering high precision was required because different types of parts needed to be produced on the same equipment. Lot sizes are small and changeover had to be performed as quickly as possible. The watch parts are very small and fragile, therefore special care was a critical factor throughout the process.
Affolter Pignons opted for Asyril’s Asyfeed Pocket Module, an integrated flexible feeding system which updates the part loading/machine tending process of the traditional polishing machine. This turnkey solution—which comprises an Asycube 50 robotic parts feeding system, a SmartSight vision system allowing part detection and a PocketDelta high-precision delta robot—has been incorporated into Affolter Pignons’ Strausak S 70 polishing machine.
The Asyfeed Pocket Module operates as follows:
- The parts to be polished/burnished are bulk fed into the hopper of the feeding system.
- Three-axis vibration technology on the feeding system’s platform separates and pre-orients the parts (Figure 1).
- The vision system uses a backlight and frontlight to illuminate and detect the correctly oriented parts, then sends the part coordinates to the module’s delta robot (Figure 2).
- The delta robot picks and places the parts in the loading fixture of the polishing machine (Figures 3 and 4).
- Once the polishing/burnishing operation is complete, the delta robot removes the parts and the cycle begins again with the next lot of parts.
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Figure 1: Three-axis vibration technology on the feeding system’s platform separates and pre-orients the parts.
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Figure 2: The vision system uses a back-light and front-light to illuminate and detect the correctly oriented parts, then sends the part co-ordinates to the module’s delta robot.
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Figure 3
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Figures 3 and 4: The delta robot picks and places the parts in the loading fixture of the polishing machine.
Affolter Pignons’ previous loading equipment was dedicated to one kind of part (i.e. one geometry) and adding a new one had been virtually impossible. The Asyfeed Pocket Module has enabled the company to add a new part easily in the space of one to two hours.
The delta robot saves one to two seconds on loading time during every cycle. Furthermore, part changeover is a great deal quicker, being achievable in less than five minutes. This means the company is able to offer its customers new solutions.
Another advantage has been a significant reduction in the cost of tooling. Affolter Pignons’ previous loading equipment required expensive tooling which had to be replaced every year. The Asyfeed Pocket Module practically eliminates the need for specific tooling. The company can develop and produce the tooling itself, and that tooling has no-wear parts.
According to a spokesperson at Affolter Pignons, the Asyfeed Pocket Module has had a positive impact on staff in two respects: “First, it modernises a traditionally tedious and time-consuming trade, thus motivating employees, and second, it affords the flexibility required for set-up operations on small batches of highly fragile, high precision components.”
Affolter Pignons’ modernised process affords the added bonus of attracting young staff. The previous loading methods were manual, requiring highly skilled micro mechanics technicians. Introducing the Asyfeed Pocket Module has enabled the company to employ younger people possessing a higher level of knowledge in informatics and automation science versus very specific mechanics.
The Asyfeed Pocket Module is designed for system integrators looking for an easy-to-integrate feeding system capable of processing a large variety of products and materials. The feeding system can handle parts less than 0.1 mm and up to 5–8 mm in size. The technology is geometry-independent and allows for gentle part feeding and handling. Typical applications include micro-technology, medical devices, jewellery, electronic test probe pins, consumer electronics and semiconductors.
The Asyfeed Pocket Module includes an industrial control PC and all software needed to rapidly set up and operate the equipment.
Affolter Pignons
Asyril