Shown: the line during testing at Han-TekSix Robots, Two Loops, One Shared Washer
A robotic machining and washer line for transfer case shafts, built around the customer's own machine tools and robots, designed for 200 shafts an hour.
A driveline manufacturer making shafts for four-wheel-drive transfer cases needed to reach 200 shafts an hour. Its operators were loading, unloading and moving every part between machines by hand.
Han-Tek built two conveyor loops that carry shafts on pallets past six FANUC robots, which load the turning, spline rolling, drilling, straightening and grinding machines. Both loops finish in one shared washer, then return to the operator. People now load and unload pallets at one station per loop.
Many machines, many hand-offs, and a washer to fit in
Each shaft passes through a long string of operations: turning, spline rolling, gun drilling, cross drilling, straightening and grinding. Then it has to be washed before assembly. Every step meant someone lifting the part in and out of a machine.
Hand loading everywhere
Operators loaded, unloaded and carried shafts between every machine on the line.
Keep the machines
The automation had to work with machine tools already on the floor, and with robots the customer bought directly.
Wash in line
Shafts from two separate process lines had to go through wash, rinse and dry without a manual hand-off.
The goal: 200 shafts an hour, with robots doing the loading and people at the ends of the line.
Two loops of pallets, with robots at every machine
Han-Tek designed the line as two conveyor loops that share one washer. Here is how a pallet of shafts moves around a loop.
- 1
Load a pallet
At the operator station, a person loads up to four shafts onto a pallet and presses a button to send it.
- 2
Robots tend the machines
At each cell the pallet stops. The robot swaps a blank for a finished part in each machine, then puts finished parts back on the pallet.
- 3
Wash and return
After the last robot cell, the pallet rides through the shared washer and back to the operator, who unloads clean shafts.
- Two process loops: one loop handles turning, spline rolling and drilling. The other handles straightening and grinding.
- Dual-part grippers: every robot carries a custom gripper that holds two shafts, with sensors that confirm it is open or closed.
- Heavy-duty conveyor: hardened steel tabletop chain with drip pans its full length, and pallets that queue up between cells.
- One control system: a single PLC and touchscreen run the conveyors, robots, machine interfaces and washer together.
- Guarded cells: each robot has its own fenced cell with an interlocked door and a request-to-enter button.
People at the ends of the line, robots in the middle
| Area | Before: manual | After: robotic line |
|---|---|---|
| Loading machines | By hand at every machine | Six robots |
| Moving parts between machines | Carried by operators | Pallets on two conveyor loops |
| Washing | A separate hand-off | In line, shared by both loops |
| Where people work | Along the whole line | One load and unload station per loop |
| If a machine is down | Work around it by hand | Bypass it from the touchscreen |
- Built for 200 an hour: the conveyors, robots and washer were sized for 200 shafts per hour.
- Existing equipment kept: the line was built around machine tools already in the plant and robots the customer purchased directly.
- Flexible when something is down: any machine can be bypassed, and any robot can be locked out so people load that cell by hand while the rest of the line keeps running.
- Room to grow: when the customer decided to automate the straightener partway through the project, Han-Tek added a sixth robot cell to the same controls.
- A repeat customer: the robots swap parts the same way as the spline rolling cells Han-Tek built earlier for this manufacturer.
Questions about robotic machining lines
Can Han-Tek automate around machines we already own?
Yes. This line was built around existing turning, drilling, rolling, straightening and grinding machines. Han-Tek handled the robot, conveyor and machine interfaces.
Can we buy the robots ourselves?
Yes. In this project the customer bought the FANUC robots directly. Han-Tek designed the grippers, bases and guarding, programmed the robots and tied them into the line controls.
What happens when one machine or robot goes down?
The operator can bypass that machine from the touchscreen, or lock out the robot and load that cell by hand. The rest of the line keeps running.
Can a parts washer be part of the automated line?
Yes. Here both conveyor loops run through one dual-lane washer, controlled by the same system as the robots and conveyors.
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