Robotic Bin Picking with FANUC’s 3D Area Sensor - Motion Controls Robotics

Published on Oct 30, 2015

FANUC America Authorized System Integrator Motion Controls Robotics is keeping manufacturers competitive with quality robotics solutions. Robotic bin picking is commonly used in industries dealing with automotive stampings, molded plastics, or medical equipment for machine loading or assembly. Part bins can be large wire containers, small to large plastic totes, or even trays.
This robot bin picking cell selects a random part from the bin placing it on a tray. The cell contains a FANUC M-10iA robot for bin picking and an LR Mate 200iD/4S short-arm robot for moving the parts from the tray to a fixture. The FANUC M-10iA robot uses a multi-gripper to move parts - the magnetic gripper distributes parts to improve the pick and the mechanical gripper picks mapped parts.
This robot cell uses FANUC’s latest 3D Area Sensor to develop an image map to perfect the picking of parts. The FANUC 3D Area Scanner reimages every 3 missed picks to keep the process at the needed rate. Since these parts are randomly placed in the bin, the M-10iA robot picks the part and places it on the tray. The part is placed with the flange either up or down and the sensor on the end of the tray relays the information to the LR Mate. Then the LR Mate either rejects the part or accepts the part by placing it on the fixture.
The processing of the part on the fixture may take longer than the bin picking. To accommodate for this, the M-10iA patiently waits for an open space on the part tray. Today, robotic automation systems are able to scan, plan, and pick parts that are within specification. With new innovations in robotics technology, random robotic bin picking has become an achievable application for a broad range of parts. To learn more about FANUC America Authorized System Integrator Motion Controls Robotics, please visit https://motioncontrolsrobotics.com.