Robotic Toolchangers Automate Mold Production

Photo Credit: Stäubli Corp.

Stäubli constructs and develops high-quality robotic toolchanging systems. By automating tasks, the company’s solutions enable moldmakers to reduce the risk of error, save valuable time, and improve the overall quality and consistency of their molds.

The robotic toolchanger can be used in a variety of applications throughout the moldmaking process to improve precision, reduce labor requirements and increase productivity. Some of these applications include:

• Milling: The robotic toolchanger can be used to change toolheads on a milling machine to perform precision milling operations on molds.
• Drilling: It can be used to swap out drill bits to create precise holes in mold components.
• Polishing: The toolchanger can switch between different polishing tools to give mold surfaces a smooth finish.
• Cutting: Cutting tools can be quickly changed out to remove excess material and refine mold details.
• Inspection: The robotic toolchanger can be used to switch between inspection probes to measure and verify mold dimensions and tolerances.
• Assembly: Picking up and placing mold components together, such as assembling a two-part mold, is made possible.

Stäubli’s modular product concept offers three solution paths and covers all payload sizes to meet requirements: MPS Complete (preconfigured robotic tool hangers for immediate use), MPS Modular (enables the user to determine the configuration) and MPS Customized (allows the construction of special, application-specific systems).