Molders looking to get more work out of robots

Injection molders are seeking ways to maximize the efficiency and productivity of their work cells, including extracting more work from robots, said Nucon Wittmann sales representative Brian Davis at the tri-annual Plast-Ex show.
"If you’ve got a 60 second cycle time and the robot is only being used for 15 seconds to remove parts, there’s 45 extra seconds in which the robot could be doing something else," said Davis.
In one current application, a company is using its robot to put a date code on a container during injection, said Davis.
Nucon Wittmann is featuring a number of robots at its booth, including a high-speed, vibration-free sprue picker and a compact series robot with internally-integrated controls.