Shown: a cell during testing at Han-TekRobot Packout Cells, Proven Before They Shipped
Three identical Nachi robot cells take gears off CNC lathe conveyors and load them onto trays. Each one ran 20 hours with production parts at Han-Tek before it went to the plant.
A Tier 1 driveline manufacturer turns net-shape pinion gears on Kitako CNC lathes. Finished gears came off each lathe on a conveyor and had to be loaded onto trays by hand.
Han-Tek built a modular robot packout cell for the end of each lathe. A Nachi robot picks the gears and loads them onto trays that queue on roller conveyors. Every cell was assembled, wired and run for 20 hours with production parts at Han-Tek before shipping. The customer then ordered two more built to the same design.
Automate the end of the lathe, and prove it first
Each lathe sends finished gears down its own take-away conveyor. Someone had to pick every gear off the end and set it in place on a tray for the next process.
Hand packing
Every finished gear was moved from the lathe conveyor to a tray by hand.
Fit what is there
The cell had to pick from the lathe builder's conveyor and use the plant's existing trays, conveyor style and lift assists.
Proven before shipping
The customer required a 20-hour run at rate at Han-Tek, with its own people watching, before any equipment shipped.
The goal: a packout cell that works the day it arrives, and that can be copied to more lathes.
A robot, two tray conveyors and a shuttle
Han-Tek designed one modular cell and built it to drop in at the end of each lathe. Here is how a tray moves through it.
- 1
Load empty trays
The operator sets up to four empty trays on the infeed conveyor. The front tray stops against an end stop and side guides that locate it for the robot.
- 2
Robot fills the tray
The robot picks two gears from the lathe conveyor, turns and places them, working back and forth across the tray to save motion.
- 3
Shuttle and unload
An air shuttle moves the full tray to the outfeed conveyor, a light signals the operator, and the next empty tray moves into place.
- Two-part gripper: a custom end effector holds two gears, so each trip to the tray places a pair.
- Room to queue: four trays wait on each side, so the cell keeps running between operator visits.
- Lift assist: empty and full trays are lifted on and off the conveyors with a lift assist that matches the plant's existing ones.
- Part number recipes: the operator enters a part number and the matching robot program loads.
- Pick up where it stopped: after a cycle stop, the cell restarts exactly where it left off.
Three cells, each one proven before it arrived
| Area | Before: manual | After: robot packout |
|---|---|---|
| Loading trays | By hand, one gear at a time | Robot, two gears per trip |
| Trays waiting | Handled one at a time | Four empty and four full queued |
| Proof before shipping | Not applicable | 20-hour run at rate, 92% uptime required |
| Proof at the plant | Not applicable | 300-piece run-off on site |
| Adding more lathes | More people | Copy the same cell |
- Tested with real parts: the customer sent production gears and trays to Han-Tek, and every cell ran 20 hours at rate, with the results signed off by the customer.
- Plug and play: each cell was fully assembled, wired to junction boxes and guarded in the shop, so site work was supervision, debug and training.
- Proven again on site: a 300-piece run-off at the plant, then a Han-Tek technician on site for a 25-day production run.
- Repeat order: after the first cell, the customer ordered two more built to match it, each handling a different gear.
- Trained to train: Han-Tek trained the plant's maintenance staff and operator trainers, who then trained the operators.
Questions about robot packout cells
What is a robot packout cell?
A robot at the end of a machine that takes finished parts off the machine's conveyor and loads them into trays, racks or containers for the next process.
Can we test the cell before it ships?
Yes. These cells each ran 20 hours at rate with production parts at Han-Tek, and the customer signed off on the results before shipping.
Can the cell work with our existing trays and conveyors?
Yes. Here the cells used the plant's existing trays and matched its conveyor style and lift assists.
Can one design be copied to more machines?
Yes. The second order added two cells built to the same design, each running a different gear.
More robotic machine tending projects
Let a robot load the trays.
Tell us the machine, the part and the tray or container it goes into. A Han-Tek engineer will tell you what a packout cell could do.
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