Premier Automation Robotics

Robotic Laminate Glass Finishing System

Project Summary and Challenge

Premier Automation provided a Robotic Glass Unload and Trim system to automate the finishing process of laminated automotive windows for a local glass manufacturer. The goal was to fully automate the handling of glass from the rack until the final inspection process, increasing throughput and reducing scrap losses.

This customer manufactures a wide range of glass products for the automotive industry. This facility’s primary product was automotive sidelite windows. Future flexibility and ease of switching between pre-programmed parts or adding new parts to the system was the highest priority for this customer.

Specific challenges for this project were:

The glass parts are concave with variable radius of curvature on the picking surface
The glass parts have incredibly complex & diverse geometry that needs to be trimmed

Design Constraints:

Unload glass from racks without any glass-to-glass contact
Trim 100% of perimeter of glass to within specified tolerances
Develop a new part teaching process that is easy for the operator and repeatable

Solution

The comprehensive solution included:

A compact footprint for the cell, consisting of:
A Fanuc R2000iC/125L robot to unload glass from racks
Two Fanuc M710iC/45M robots to perform the grinding operation
Another Fanuc M710iC/45m pick and place robot to deliver glass to the next stage of the process
Two rack infeed locations to allow continuous operation of the cell while a fork truck driver removes the empty rack and introduces a new one to the system
Two floor mounted belt grinders with dust collection system
Each robot was equipped with a custom designed vacuum tool featuring a Schunk DDF rotary union for ease of routing cables and airline, and an Igus Triflex cable management solution
Fanuc iRVision was used to locate the parts accurately before grinding

Impact to Customer (outcomes & benefits):

Key functionality and enhancements to the system include:

Utilization of Fanuc Roboguide simulation software and CAD to path programming to train the trim program on each new part
Improved quality control of parts, with less scratches/defects from operators handling the glass, and a more uniform trimmed edge.

Result:

Premier Automation delivers a custom automated solution that meets the customer’s objectives of increased throughput, reduction of scrap loss, and a flexible system to accommodate a range of future parts/products.