The automated solution has helped the Livingston-based electronics manufacturer become more competitive while maintaining its commitment to precision and quality.

J-TEQ is known for producing complex electronic assemblies and systems, meeting strict quality and regulatory restrictions at every stage of the manufacturing processes.

The company previously had two operators using hand applications for a typical assembly when employing temporary solder masking compound to PCBs. By introducing Fisnar F4403N Advance, the company could eliminate variance and improve its environmentally conscious practices by reducing waste and increasing energy efficiency.

As well as increasing return on investment, staff could focus on higher-value tasks elsewhere in the business including hand soldering and mechanical assembly, helping to increase the product ranges that run through J-TEQ’s selective soldering process.

“It’s a win-win all around for both J-TEQ and our customers, and it has made us more competitive for quoting new business,” explained Michael Page, General Manager of J-TEQ EMS Solutions. “This has helped us continue to excel in the production of complex electronic assemblies with high precision, ensuring optimal performance and reliability. Where we see automation, it’s to work alongside our existing staff they can be work in other areas.”

The success of this partnership means that Intertronics and J-TEQ will work on further projects involving potting and dispensing.

Frugal Bottle is the world’s first paper wine and spirits bottle. Its innovative design comprises an outer made from 94% recycled paperboard with an inner food grade pouch. Frugal Bottle is fully recyclable, is five times lighter than glass and has a much lower carbon footprint than traditional wine bottles. It also offers 360-degree branding for better impact on the shelf.

Frugal Bottles are manufactured from two paperboard blanks that are precision cut, glued and then wetted front and back, before being stacked ready for feeding into the bottle forming machine. Achieving the desired throughputs is a major challenge because the glue pathway is complex and must be tailored to the profile of the bottle. In addition, the correct amount of glue has to be applied to prevent malformation or unsightly glue excess on the finished bottle.

Frugalpac had approached an adhesive systems company for a solution, but they were unable to achieve the desired cycle times. Working closely together, PCE Automation and Festo developed a fully automated gluing and wetting line to meet the tight tolerances and complex gluing patterns necessary to deliver throughputs of 630 bottles per hour.

Ronan Quinn, project manager for PCE, says: “The gluing process was more complex than anything we’d encountered before. Tight tolerances on the gluing pattern combined with a short cycle time and critical bead thicknesses were a real challenge. We would usually undertake the entire design and assembly inhouse, but on this occasion Festo supplied the handling gantries to us fully assembled which added real value in terms of component compatibility and commissioning.”

Making it stick

The automation cell provided by PCE Automation requires minimal human intervention. An operator loads the blanks for the front and back of the bottles at the front end. The machine then picks, loads, transfers, glues, transfers again, wets and conveys the prepared blanks into a container at the end of process. The prepared blanks are then transferred to the bottle forming machine.

PCE Automation used the Festo Handling Guide Online (HGO) to design the automation cell. This free online tool dramatically reduces design, assembly and delivery time and enables customers to create a ready-to-install handling system: whether for a single-axis system, a 2D linear and planar surface gantry or a 3D gantry. With just a few clicks, the HGO delivers the right standard handling system, including CAD model, animation, and complete Eplan schematic documentation. The individual steps (including RFQ, layout, quotation and CAD design), which previously could take 10 to 15 days, can be completed in a matter of minutes. The reduction in design and documentation time enabled PCE to meet Frugalpac’s delivery expectations.

The gluing and wetting solution was tested and sized at Festo’s UK Application Centre to prove that the desired cycle times could be achieved. It uses the Festo CPX-E-CEC Controller as the PLC to deliver interpolated soft motion, controlling multiple axes at the same time to achieve the complex curves on the glue paths. Festo CMMT servo controllers feature in the three handling systems for precise and repeatable loading, gluing and unloading. Festo core pneumatics products, valve terminals and process valves are also used extensively throughout the gluing and wetting system.

The PCE automation cell needed to achieve a cycle time of just 19 seconds to meet Frugalpac’s requirements. The gluing and wetting solution delivers a gluing time that is 50% faster than specified, enabling the entire machine to meet the overall cycle times required. It achieves this by batch-gluing eight bottles simultaneously, with different glue patterns being applied to the front and back blanks.

John-Paul Grogan, product director at Frugalpac, says: “Frugalpac is committed to the development of more sustainable packaging. The application of automation in the production of Frugal Bottle will help us to achieve our aim of reducing the carbon of wine and spirits packaging.”

Festo and PCE are now working with Frugalpac to develop an automated method for the forming of the Frugal Bottle itself.

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The engineering of effective sealing technology can be a challenging task. To seal electronic products, manufacturers have used preformed, moulded or pre-punched gaskets, or the installation of elastomeric strip profiles or self-adhesive foams, all of which have clear downsides.

Currently, automation is a key driver in many manufacturing businesses. UK industrial robot sales are continuing to rise – in 2020 they were up 7.5% on the previous year, according to a recent study by BARA. In Q4 of 2020, robot sales were up 52% on the previous two quarters, so it seems this trend is showing no signs of slowing down. But, gasket processes that involve laying a strip of pre-formed material into a groove are performed by hand and require a high level of dexterity. The process is difficult and expensive to automate, and it remains a time-consuming manual process. Because it is much easier to automate a liquid gasket process, the heightened interest in robotics is driving manufacturers to consider liquid gasketing approaches.

Another approach is stamping gaskets from sheet material, which requires a tool for each part. If the manufacturer has several designs, it requires several tools. Should a new gasket design be required, it will add a lead time, as well as a cost, while the tool is manufactured. If the company is ordering stamped gaskets from a third-party supplier, it adds additional lead time while the part is shipped. Manufacturers using this approach typically store a large, costly inventory of gaskets of different shapes and sizes, to ensure product is on hand.

Compared with preformed gasket assembly processes, liquid gasket processes require lower tooling costs, save time, reduce inventory costs and offer more design flexibility. Liquid gaskets can easily accommodate component design changes and part variation without additional development costs – should a new gasket design be needed, it is a simple case of reprogramming a robot.

Liquid gaskets are already used in automotive, mobile device, lighting, electrical device, HVAC, energy and industrial hardware applications. To apply a liquid gasket, a bead of adhesive is dispensed onto a part and then cured to form a soft seal. There are two main types of liquid gasket, cure-in-place (CIP) and form-in-place (FIP). In CIP gasket production, the compound is dispensed onto one surface of the assembly and left to cure. Once cured, the assembly is typically mechanically fixed using fasteners, compressing the cured compound to form a seal.  The alternative is form in place gaskets, where curing achieves both adhesion and a seal between two surfaces.

An experienced adhesives supplier should be able to recommend some suitable materials to test, based on what you are sealing against, the environmental and temperature conditions your product will be subject to, and the length and width of the gasket and the throughput you would like to achieve. The compression characteristics of the material are important to understand in order to achieve a reliable seal.

If your application is suited to liquid gaskets, silicones are one of the more popular materials for this application; they are available both as single- and two-part products.  Alternatively, manufacturers can test UV light curing materials or flexible two-part epoxies. Other options include foaming two-part polyurethanes, or anaerobic gasketing material if the substrates are metal. If the gasket is to provide EMC shielding in addition to sealing, the gasketing material can be provided with fillers to give the appropriate amount of conductivity.

Those looking to reduce cycle times may want to trial single-part UV curing materials, which offer instant on-demand curing to eliminate ovens, racking, stacking, and waiting for traditional CIP gaskets to cure. Able to seal intricate, complex configurations as well as flat surfaces or wide, shallow grooves, permanent UV CIP gaskets can eliminate the delay experienced with slow-curing resins and the design and inventory expense associated with pre-cut gaskets.

Once you have narrowed your material selection, you can then combine it with dispensing technology. FIP/CIP gaskets typically require precision dispensing, so our customers often opt for volumetric dispensing technology like the preeflow eco-PEN, combined with a robot. There are usually several ways of automating the same application, so work with your supplier to find what is right for your process, both now and for future scale up. Some materials are more challenging and may require more specialist dispensing equipment such as foaming gaskets, or thermally conductive gasketing materials which can be quite abrasive.

Many of our customers have successfully used Fisnar benchtop robots, which can be readily programmed to perform the operation accurately and repeatably. The dispensing equipment is readily integrated with the robot, with materials fed either from cartridges or bulk packaging. When matched with RTV silicones or Dymax light-curing adhesives, Fisnar robots can achieve the accuracy required to meet the tolerances of the gasket design. Alongside this, your supplier can help point out areas of your process that may need to be adapted, for example refining work in progress needs to accommodate for curing materials.

If required, the robot can be combined with additional technology to improve results. For example, a vision system can be used in conjunction with fiducial markings to automatically adjust the dispensing location due to misalignment, therefore ensuring material is dispensed where required. A pressure sensor can provide real time data on air bubbles or material clogs, to reduce the risk of the final product including a void.

One successful customer example is Shot Scope Technologies, an Edinburgh based designer and manufacturer of wearable technology that helps golfers improve their game. The team approached us for an effective way to seal the back of a wearable device to the main body, to prevent ingress of water and dirt and deal with humidity. Stamping or preforming a gasket were deemed too challenging due to the thin gasket width, and manual dispensing of silicone was rejected as too challenging to do in a tidy and accurate way. Aware of the benefits of automation, the team approached us.

We proposed an automated dispensing system, consisting of an F5200N.1 gantry robot, 790HP-LF high pressure dispensing valve controlled by a SL101N digital liquid dispenser, and 310 ml dispensing cartridge holder for the material feed. The technology applies a single part RTV silicone acting as a FIP gasket. The customer now benefits from a faster manufacturing time, reduced labour costs, and a consistently high-quality result with no defects or wasted material.

Return on investment

Using liquid gaskets often reduces the cost per gasket when material and process costs are factored in, but this is balanced with the capital cost of equipment upfront and how it is amortised. Historically, the cost and physical size of robots was a constraint for SMEs looking to adopt liquid gaskets. However, robots are now available in bench-top size and for a modest price. It is useful to have the return on investment (ROI) conversation up front with your supplier to balance the financial aspect with the less tangible or indirect improvements to your process. In many cases, the overall cost and constraints of outsourcing, the lead times and the traceability benefits drive manufacturers to consider bringing gasketing in-house.

Changing a process should not be a leap of faith, but a well-considered decision taking into account the risks. It will help to choose a supplier that is a single source – who can supply the materials, dispensing technology, automation and integration. This will facilitate your evaluations and proof of concept, and demonstrate cycle times and accuracy. They should also provide ongoing support to get your process up and running smoothly. It will be beneficial for your supplier to train you and your colleagues on the new technology, to ensure you achieve good return on investment and productivity enhancement.

Liquid gaskets eliminate many of the manual and time-consuming processes of preformed gaskets, as well as reduce inventory costs. The design and production flexibility, as well as the high-quality sealing make them an attractive option. The process can be automated in a way that delivers good return on investment, even for small batches.

Visit the Intertronics website for more information

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A task such as gluing can present significant health and safety issues for employees. It can also prove difficult for humans to ensure uniformity in the process as even the most experienced of operators is liable to apply subtly different amounts of adhesive and force each time. The task is therefore a prime candidate for automation to drive up safety, consistency and control.

During the conference, experts will advise how to best deploy cobot dispensing applications to:

• Prevent employees having to work in close proximity to hot glue or fumes
• Improve quality through greater repeatability
• Increase output through the quicker application of glue or sealant
• Ensure consistency across employees and shift patterns

Mark Gray, Country Manager UK&I, Universal Robots said, “Our cobots are designed to work alongside human employees to take on dull, dirty and dangerous tasks. Our customers often report that dispensing tasks can be some of the most dangerous tasks for employees. That’s why we’ve created this brand-new expert conference to show manufacturers that cobots can help them prioritise safety and quality at the same time.”

Attendees can sign up here to join the webinar at 11am GMT on the 3 March 2021.

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The six featured in this publication are pick and place; machine tending; packaging and palletizing; processing tasks – gluing, dispensing or welding; finishing tasks – polishing, grinding or deburring and finally, quality inspection.

In each case the white paper gives an overview of the application, explains how the robot handles the process and the common accessories required for the cobot to successfully complete the task.  How long it takes to programme the cobot is also calculated and each example is rounded off with a short description of the typical benefits achievable from cobot integration.

Click here to download your copy of the publication

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The Altec system is designed to automatically dispense adhesive onto a rubber “Bumper Strip” which in turn is assembled to one of the main plastic mouldings which make up the outer body housing of the Automower robotic lawn mower.

The gluing cell operates in a semi-automated manner, with an operator priming the system with the rubber strip and main moulding. The two parts are secured in precision-machined profile nests, with the plastic moulding held in the upper half of the fixture and the rubber strip in the lower part.

A Fanuc LR mate 6-axis robot is used to manipulate an adhesive dispensing nozzle around the profile of the rubber strip, ensuring consistency in the quantity of adhesive and repeatable positioning of the adhesive profile on the part. With the gluing operation completed, the lower half of the fixture is automatically raised to attach the rubber strip to the main moulding and the fixture remains closed for a short time to allow the adhesive to cure. The fixture then opens, allowing the operator to remove the finished assembly.

The stand-alone cell is built upon a robust steel fabricated base frame and controlled using a PLC based system. Double guard doors are used to protect the operator during the robot cycle.

The system is now in full production proving that even robots need robots within a manufacturing environment.

Visit the Altec Engineering website for more information.

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The strength of the UNITOP F5200N lies in its ability to create its own working area, enabling the system to be mounted on any work surface. The system is suitable for use on any type of platform requiring a gantry type mounting with open access under the robot. It is also ideal for conveyor fed automation or can be installed in work cells operating as a slave robot, allowing users to create their workstation.

Intertronics point out that the robot comprises a control module, a teach-pendant and an articulated-gantry. The F5200N has a working area of 200 x 200mm with a resolution accuracy of 0.001mm. Using the teach pendant, the dispensing robot supports windows compatible dispensing software and can store and retrieve up to 100 programs (400,000 points).

Reliability and accuracy feature strongly in the F5200 with resolution of 0.001mm/axis derived from its micro-stepping motor controlled via USB/RS232 interface.

Visit the Intertronics website for more information