Schmalz: Solution Kit ivOS Sheet Metal

Sheet metal processors and contract manufacturers must produce efficiently in order to be profitable and ensure their competitiveness. The challenge: high part variance with fluctuating batch sizes. The shortage of labor and rising wage costs exacerbate the situation. The use of robots can provide a remedy here and ensure a sustainable improvement. However, classic robot systems and bin-picking solutions have often failed in the past when it came to flexibility and adaptability. As a result, humans were indispensable for the strenuous and monotonous loading and unloading of machines. Teaching in new workpieces used to be time-consuming and usually required two specialists: on the one hand, the specialist for image processing or 3D sensor technology and, on the other, the robot professional for programming, as the grippers also had to be changed as required.

With their ivOS Sheet Metal Solution Kit, the vacuum experts from the Black Forest elegantly automate sheet metal part handling and offer sheet metal processing companies the optimum solution quickly and easily. The Solution Kit consists of the latest 3D camera technology, the ivOS vision operating system and the highly flexible FMG matrix gripper. It consists of seven modules, each with twelve suction cups, which are linked together to form a flexible area gripper. The 84 individually controllable suction points adapt automatically to the changing workpiece geometries. This offers users maximum flexibility when handling different sheets. Gripper changes can be reduced to a minimum.

As the control of this universally applicable gripper system is complex, a learning AI (artificial intelligence) takes over the task. It uses a camera system to recognize the unknown workpieces and controls the gripper so that it can pick up the sheet metal in the best possible way. The ivOS vision operating system then monitors the grip quality during the handling cycle and navigates the robot with the product to the target tray without collision. This all happens autonomously, without the user needing specialist knowledge to operate the system. The ivOS software platform works with grippers, cameras, picking software and robots from different manufacturers, which can be easily connected and controlled in real time. This will also make it easier to automate other applications in the future.

Solution Kit ivOS Sheet Metal from Schmalz, nominated for the Metalworking category.