DISPENSING/GLUEING
Case History
Mirror assembly with silicone and hot-glue
The customer requested a robotic solution capable of producing mirrors in a range of sizes, from minimum to maximum, while optimizing production and maintaining operational flexibility. The system needed to handle gluing of components and silicone dispensing. Additionally, an intuitive, easy-to-use HMI was required to allow operators to interact with the robotic cell and switch autonomously between different production types.
The solution
YK-Robotics for Mirror Manufacturing Optimization
- 2 Kawasaki industrial robots;
- 1 vision system;
- Connection with PLC and MES;
- Glueing and silicon dispenser management;
- User-friendly interface;
- Production insights dashboard;
In particular, the end-user is able to manage autonomously:
- Mirror dimension and support application
- Generate new mirror sizes in product range
- Change type of production
- Save and re-use new mirror configurations
With YK-Robotics, preparing and starting the robotic cell is simple, automatic, and highly flexible. Depending on the required mirror size, the operator can configure it directly via the HMI or have the system automatically read the order batch from the MES. The robotic cell then adjusts its motion and glue and silicone dispensing accordingly.
Flexibility was a top priority for the customer. The ability to assemble new mirrors autonomously and easily was essential. Our platform enables any operator, even without technical experience, to do so. Frame dimensions, glass size, and layout can be quickly adjusted, while the system automatically updates the robotic program. Operators can also reference an MES recipe to create a new production batch. A key feature is precise control of gluing and silicone dispensing, including speed and quantity.
Depending on their permission level, users can access different panels and dashboards to perform specific tasks. From simply starting, stopping, or resetting the machine, to reading a recipe from the MES, or modifying parts of the robotic cell program, the HMI can be configured accordingly. Specific widgets can be selected to create a customized dashboard for each user.
The company will need to scale the solution to other automation applications. With YK-Platform, this is simple and effortless, as the solution is completely hardware-agnostic. Operators can switch between different hardware setups without changing how they interact with the robotic cell, establishing a new standard: a versatile automation tool rather than a single automated process.