Crane Gripper Automation for Flexible Machine Loading
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Solution Overview
Problem
Fully automatic loading machines for processing machines are costly and space-intensive, limiting flexibility and preventing manual operation, which is crucial for smaller companies with order-oriented production.
Innovation Solution
A system that includes a remotely controllable, motorized, and rotatable gripping device attached to a load carrier on a crane, combined with a monitoring system and control device, allowing for both manual and automated loading and unloading of processing machines, enabling unmanned operation and adaptable to different workpiece geometries.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If a fully automatic loading tower with numerous drawers is installed, then automation level and productivity are improved, but space consumption and cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the essential automated loading/unloading function from the complex tower structure and implements it using a simple crane with a gripping device. The crane system takes out only the necessary components (crane, load carrier, gripping device) to perform automated workpiece handling, eliminating the need for a massive drawer-based tower while maintaining automation capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The crane system serves multiple functions: it can perform automated loading and unloading operations, can be manually operated when needed, and can handle various types of workpieces. The load carrier and gripping device can be adapted for different workpiece geometries, making the system universally applicable rather than dedicated to a single function.
2Extent of automation
If a fully automatic loading tower is installed, then automated operation is improved, but loading flexibility and manual operation capability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically switches between automated and manual operating modes based on production needs. The crane can be controlled automatically by a control device for routine operations, but can also be manually operated when flexibility is required. This dynamic adaptability allows the system to respond to changing production requirements without being locked into a single mode of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes its operational parameters by switching between automated control mode and manual control mode. The control device can adjust the level of automation based on the specific task requirements, allowing full automation for standard operations and manual intervention for exceptional cases or when handling unique workpiece geometries.
3Productivity
If a fully automatic loading tower is installed, then automated machine operation is improved, but cost and investment risks increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention replaces the expensive, complex automated tower with a much simpler and cheaper crane-based system. The crane with load carrier and gripping device represents a low-cost alternative that achieves the same automated loading/unloading functionality without the high investment required for a dedicated automated loading tower, thereby reducing both initial costs and ongoing maintenance expenses.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a set of equipment, a system, an automated machine operation, and a method for loading and unloading a processing machine. This involves the use of a remotely controlled crane, which is typically found in production halls anyway.According to the invention, a control device of the equipment set is able to move a load carrier of a crane to a desired position in a working area, to rotate a gripping device attachable to the load carrier about a vertical axis, and to control the crane and the gripping device according to a processing order in such a way that, for loading the processing machine, an unprocessed workpiece is brought from a first storage location in the working area to the processing machine and placed there in a first orientation, and that, for unloading the processing machine, a processed workpiece is brought from the processing machine to a second storage location in the working area and placed there in a second orientation.