RANDOM-ACCESS TRAY FEEDER
Original Publication Date: 1991-Dec-01
Included in the Prior Art Database: 2001-Dec-26
Publishing Venue
Motorola
Related People
A. Marozsan: AUTHOR [+3]
Abstract
In a fully automated factory, where flexible technol- ogy such as Robotics, Vision, CIM etc. have made it possible to manufacture various product mixes and an incredibly large variety of batch sizes with a minimum changeover time, discrete component presentation can be the gaiting element in achieving ultimate flexibility, Providing our customers with the product features that they desire is a matter of developing the capability to feed on-demand a large variety of components. The var- iation in features such as color, size and value of com- ponents may be as frequent as every other product being assembled. The mean time between component presen- tation may be as small as 7.5 - 10 seconds. Conventional feeder technology has been very limiting in this area and in many cases the price/performance ratio is undesirable. The Random-Access Tray Feeder is one device that has come to the aid of automation technolo- gists to enable them to utilize the full capability of our automated lines.
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MOTOROLA INC. Technical Developments Volume 14 December 1991
RANDOM-ACCESS TRAY FEEDER
by A. Marozsan, D. Peana, S. Lakhani, 0. Neiconi
In a fully automated factory, where flexible technol- ogy such as Robotics, Vision, CIM etc. have made it possible to manufacture various product mixes and an incredibly large variety of batch sizes with a minimum changeover time, discrete component presentation can be the gaiting element in achieving ultimate flexibility, Providing our customers with the product features that they desire is a matter of developing the capability to feed on-demand a large variety of components. The var- iation in features such as color, size and value of com- ponents may be as frequent as every other product being assembled. The mean time between component presen- tation may be as small as 7.5 - 10 seconds. Conventional feeder technology has been very limiting in this area and in many cases the price/performance ratio is undesirable. The Random-Access Tray Feeder is one device that has come to the aid of automation technolo- gists to enable them to utilize the full capability of our automated lines.
In 1987, a sequential tray feeder was developed. A stack of polyethylene trays were utilized to present com- ponents to robotic stations in a pager manufacturing line. Over a period of three years, this tray feeder kept the line running with an optimum work in process at the station thereby increasing utilization of capital assets. But the sequential tray presentation would not lend a great deal of flexibility in a flexible focused line. An automatic storage and retrieval system was required but it had to tit into the confines of a robotic station layout and inter-
face with a line controller to receive commands as to bins or trays to present in a totally random sequence.
The Random Access Tray Feeder is a free standing machine that can be interfaced with robots and...