The World’s First Autonomous Bin Picking for Machine Tending Applications
Universal Robots has done it again. Released earlier this year, ActiNav from Universal Robots (UR) is the answer to the complexity and risk associated with bin picking applications. The ActiNav UR+ application kit is for companies of all sizes and simplifies the integration of autonomous bin picking of parts and accurate placement in machines using UR cobots. ActiNav synchronously handles vision processing, collision-free motion planning and autonomous real-time robot control, eliminating the complexity and risk usually associated with bin picking applications.
CIMTEC’s market leading automation products are proven to enhance automated production lines. Most bin picking products are solely focused on the vision aspect of bin picking and often require hundreds of lines of additional programming to bridge the gap from “pick” to “place” – especially if the “place” is not just dropping into a box or tote but accurately inserting the part into a fixture for further processing. The ActiNav changes all that, allowing manufacturers with limited or no bin picking deployment expertise to quickly achieve high machine uptime and accurate part placement with few operator interventions.
“Machine tending has always been one of the mainstay applications for our collaborative robot arms,” says VP of Product and Applications Management at Universal Robots, Jim Lawton. “We discovered a significant market need for a simple solution that enables UR cobots to autonomously locate and pick parts out of deep bins and place them precisely into a machine. This is not pick and drop; this is accurate pick and part-oriented placement.”
ActiNav Autonomous Motion enables:
- Higher machine uptime with collision-free motion: Autonomous collision-free motion within its environment means fewer operator interventions and system restarts. The system takes care of the motion autonomously.
- Less refilling with deep bins: Autonomous motion enables ActiNav to operate inside deep bins which hold more parts. That means systems can run unattended longer and require less filling. When the bin gets low on parts, it notifies workers by an alert light that it’s ready for more parts.
- Accurate part placement: Machine tending requires parts to be accurately placed and oriented in the same way each time. The high-resolution sensor and CAD matching enable high accuracy picks. And the Autonomous Motion Module selects a robot pose that ensures the part is placed in the same way into a fixture each time. This is not pick and drop, this is accurate pick and part oriented placement.
Contact CIMTEC and to find out more about the ActiNav Autonomous Bin Picking machine at 877.524.6832
