Buying a laser cutter is a major investment that will only pay off if it is in permanent operation. To achieve this goal, complete automation of the process is necessary, even for the plate racks that are fitted in front of the laser cutter.
SEW-Eurodrive asynchronous geared servomotors and MOVIDRIVE drive inverters with integrated IPOSplus and the 'Table Positioning' application module are used for this automation task. The positions of the drawers are stored in table form, as is the corresponding transport speed, acceleration and braking.
The machine controller (PLC) selects the required drawer using its digital I/O, ie the machine controller 'knows' which product should be cut. A removal mechanism moves up to the drawer containing the required material and pulls it out. The drawer is placed on a platform, where a transfer device with an electromagnetic lifting mechanism grips the corresponding plate and places it onto the laser cutter. Following this step, the drawer is pushed back into the rack.
IPOS positioning and sequence control is a standard function in all MOVIDRIVE units. The MOVIDRIVE controls the processes and sequences of the drive. Flexible applications are easily realised with IPOS in an economical manner. It is precise even at high speeds since it uses the exact and dynamic control properties of the MOVIDRIVE units. It has direct access to the inverter parameters making it quick and flexible. The picture shows a plate rack for automatic storage and placing of plates used for laser cutting.
For more information contact Carrina Davies, SEW-Eurodrive, 011 248 7000, [email protected]
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