Fully Automated Pad Printing:
Precision Ring At Core of High-Volume Production
OUR automation engineers have been impressed with the accuracy and flexibility
of the Weiss indexing dial ring, so they are designing and recommending it to selected customers. This concept features stationary components arranged on the inside and outside of a moving ring carrying multiple part fixtures. The benefit is a precision system with a compact footprint using several complex processes with a resulting high output. Also, it's easier to reach individual operating stations without stretching. Here is a recent example of a fully automatic application that fits like a ring.
Overview of the automated system shows the full safety guarding, heavy-duty welded tubular steel base frame and cast aluminum base plate, also seen are electrical circuit boxes, pneumatic components and control panel.
System control panel enables complete monitoring of feeder, printers, curing and production output.
Overhead view of system shows how the ring dial advances printed parts clockwise to the hot-air curing unit, vision inspection station, failed part ejection chute, passed part chute, part-present sensor and load area at top of photo.
Detail view of first printing station, showing Sealcup 60 with dual pad assembly, two-up holding fixture, and pad blowers.
Part loading area shows (from right) dead nest, pneumatic pick-up-adjust-and-insertion unit, part securement device, and (at far left) monitors to verify proper location of parts prior to insertion onto fixture mandrels.
Dual vision inspection unit uses two cameras to check quality and position of printed image on both parts, then signals appropriate rake-off units to sort each as passed or failed.
View from the rear of the printing area shows rake-off units with passed and failed output chutes. At far left is part present sensor which checks that fixture is empty prior to loading next pair of blank parts.
Hot air curing unit moves forward to cure both sides of each pair of parts as they pass through its opening. As a safety precaution, it retracts out of the part path when the system is stopped to avoid excessive heating of printed parts.
For more details on our custom-engineered, automated pad printing systems, feel free to Contact Us.