The digital transformation in the way we shop using e-commerce continues to dominate many of the purchases we make today. The impact on logistics and intralogistics in recent times has been transformational with unprecedented levels of automation at work sorting, handling, and packing goods ready for dispatch. As a world leader in the design and manufacture of gripper systems and end of arm tooling, ZIMMER Group is at the heart of this fast-growing industry sector and today now provides complete robotic product handling solutions for a variety of applications.
The company’s expertise includes many different solutions which incorporate a wide range of technologies dependant upon the specific task at hand. A recent application required automated item picking to transfer shoe boxes from tote bins to a conveyor system.
The main system elements comprised of a 6-axis robot, bespoke end of arm tooling and a machine vision system, which was used to determine the position, radial orientation, and top / bottom orientation of the boxes prior to picking. The boxes can be oriented either top side up or down when they arrive in the container. The vision system is able to detect the number of boxes, the alignment, XYZ coordinates and which way up the box is. Using the information from the vision system, the robot can determine a suitable grip point.
The end of arm tooling is designed to allow various different gripping strategies. These include the use of a vacuum suction cup, extendable on its own Z axis, and used in the first instance to pull the box up between the mechanical gripper jaws, before subsequent mechanical gripping. The robot is also able to move the box within the container with the gripper jaws to reposition it if required. Another useful feature is the ability to position the vacuum suction cup on the box cover to prevent it from opening whilst the robot is moving. The vision system is also used to detect the positions of the different shoe boxes to determine the pick order.
The system is designed to pick boxes, weighing up to 5kg, at the rate of 600 per hour. The gripper stroke is variable between 120mm to 255mm to cater for different box sizes, and in addition, the low interference contours of the gripper allow it to easily enter the tote bins.
