in the garment industry, Lectra's CAD system can tell the head to
identify and cut the parts from parallel strips, explains Epperson,
dispensed simultaneously from narrow material rolls, such as four
parallel 18-inch/450-mm wide strips of prepreg.
Gerber's single-ply material feeding device, used in conjunction
with its conveyorized tables, features a synchronized cradle that ac-
curately feeds dry composite material onto the cutting surface with
little or no tension, says Gordon. A built-in infrared edge sensor
ensures precise table alignment.
Assyst Bullmer Ltd.'s (Wakefeld, U.K.) director David Bell also
points out, "If prepreg pieces are cut with the release flm in place,
the robot must remove it before placing the piece in the mold,
which really slows down the process." Te solution? Te company
recently added a new device to its roll feeding systems that removes
the interleaved paper or polymer flm — top flm, bottom flm or
both — from prepreg material as the material is fed onto the cutter,
to improve robotic pick and place.
"Large cutting machines ofen have a problem when it comes
to holding material securely in place while being cut," observes
AXYZ's Marshall. AXYZ's remedy is its "auto-zone manager," which
automatically adjusts the vacuum deck confguration during cut-
ting so that the vacuum is focused only at the area being cut. Te
enhancement reduces waste caused by sheet movement and re-
quires no human intervention.
AGFM has a totally automated material dispensing system that
is controlled by the machine's CNC program, says Elliott. It can au-
tomate the change from one roll of material to a diferent material
roll, saving considerable time.
ROBOTIC CUTTING-TO-MOLDING INTEGRATION
"Using robots to pick up cut pieces from a composite ply cutter and
place them either into a tool or a direct press former is logical and
essential where composites are required in high-volume production —
the challenges are in the details," says Assyst Bullmer's Bell.
Although Assyst Bullmer supplies static and conveyorized cut-
ters, for robotically assisted applications, only a conveyorized table
can move the pieces forward to the robot. If a robot is to choose and
place a ply accurately in a tool, it must know the exact orientation
and location of the piece on the table. "If the robot's needs control the
Robots can be integrated into a cutting table system, like this one from
Assyst Bullmer (Wakefeld, U.K.) to assist in, or take over entirely, the cut
piece offoading step.
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FEATURE: Cutting & Kitting Update
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