R&E Engineering was awarded an interesting project towards the end of 2019. We were asked to provide an automated system for a local pallet/skid manufacturing company in Western Australia, 1/2 Price Pallets. The main purpose of the system was to improve on their manufacturing process, both in safety and product throughput.

Despite the recent COVID-19 breakout, just over six months later, this system was successfully installed and commissioned in the middle of 2020. The robotic and automated system comprised of:

1. An intelligent Nachi SRA210 handling robot equipped with a dual-purpose custom-made gripper for automated nailing and pick-and-place/stacking process,
2. A turntable mounted with two template jigs, allowing one assembled skid to be nailed on one side whilst an operator can safely load and assemble the timber bearers on the other side,
3. Complete safety system consisting of safety fences, light curtain, floor scanner and a safely isolated start/stop station for the operator.

The Nachi SRA210 was chosen as the robot satisfying both high payload (up to 210 kg) and long reach (up to 3192 mm). Weighing in just over 1 tonne, this robot has an excellent positional accuracy of ±0.15 mm. This gives the high quality and consistency of the end-product the client is looking for. In order to nail and handle large and heavy skids, along with a high repeatability accuracy, this robot suits perfectly for this application.

The robotic gripper/end-effector was purposely designed and made to have two nail guns mounted on it for two simultaneous nailing onto the intersecting timber bearers. In addition, a gripping mechanism to allow the lifting and stacking after the nailing process is done was also implemented in the same gripper.

The template jigs were designed to be easily adaptable, featuring flexibility to accommodate a range of different skid configurations and timber bearer’s sizes. Having two template jigs mounted on the turntable greatly improves the productivity and throughput of the manufacturing process.

Overall, the client was extremely impressed at the outcome of this project. The automated system has achieved the expected performance and was completed on schedule, despite the global pandemic we are currently in.

For ordering and more information on robotic and automated systems, please do not hesitate to contact us! We are passionate in helping your business grow and realise its true potential!

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