Gantry Pallet Return for Honing Machine Throughput
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing honing machine processes are bottlenecked by the slow loading of gears into individual fixtures and the return of pallets to the load station, which limits throughput in production environments.
Innovation Solution
A honing machine design featuring a gantry with a pallet gripper that moves pallets from the unload station to the load station, allowing for simultaneous loading of multiple gears into a pallet, and utilizing a robotic loader and skewer for efficient gear handling and unloading, reducing the need for multiple pallets and accelerating the cycle time.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If gears are loaded one at a time into individual fixtures on a pallet, then the loading process is simple and reliable, but the loading time is excessive and limits throughput
Solution Approach 1:
The pallet is divided into multiple fixtures (10 fixtures per pallet), allowing multiple gears to be loaded simultaneously in parallel positions. The robotic arm loads gears into multiple fixtures at once rather than sequentially, transforming a serial operation into a parallel one and dramatically reducing loading time while maintaining reliability through consistent fixture design
Solution Approach 2:
A robotic arm serves as an intermediary device between the gear supply and the pallet fixtures. The robot automatically picks gears and places them into multiple fixtures simultaneously, eliminating manual one-at-a-time loading and enabling rapid parallel loading of 10 gears per pallet without compromising positioning accuracy
2Extent of automation
If a conveyor is used to return pallets to the load station, then the pallet return is automated, but the return time is several seconds and reduces overall cycle efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The pallet return function is extracted from the conveyor system and reassigned to the overhead gantry. Instead of using a separate conveyor for pallet return, the gantry with its gripper mechanism performs both machining tool transport and pallet return functions, eliminating the conveyor's time-consuming several-second return cycle and reducing it to a faster gantry-based operation
Solution Approach 2:
The overhead gantry is designed with multi-functionality, serving both as the machining tool transport mechanism and as the pallet return system. The gantry's gripper engages pallets and returns them to the load station, combining two previously separate functions into one system and eliminating the need for a dedicated conveyor return system
3Productivity
If five pallets are used to operate at full capacity (one at each station), then maximum throughput is achieved, but the number of pallets required increases equipment complexity and space requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The system maintains continuous machining operations with optimized pallet circulation. By using the gantry for faster pallet return and simultaneous robotic loading, the cycle time is reduced enough that only 4 pallets are needed instead of 5 to maintain continuous operation at all stations, keeping the production flow uninterrupted while reducing the total pallet inventory required
Data Source
AI summary
A honing machine using a robot to load gears into a loadbox at a loadbox station. The loadbox moves downstream to a position over an empty pallet in a pallet load station where the gears are released into the empty pallet. A series of downstream machining stations performing a series of honing operations on the bores of the gears in a series of pallets. A removal mechanism removing the honed gears simultaneously from the pallet at a pallet unload station. An overhead gripper on a movable gantry grips the empty pallet at the unload station and returns the pallet to the pallet load station where the pallet is reloaded with additional gears from the loadbox. The honing machine can continuously hone gears using only one pallet at each machining station and one pallet at the pallet loading station.