A motion study of a manipulator for transferring microparts in a multi stage former

In the earlier studies, it was shown that a whole multi stage former can be divided into three major sub-sections, the positioning unit, the gripping unit and the forming unit. The two first units were investigated and related parameters and features of each were discussed. This research herein deals with the forming unit. For this research, the positioning unit and the gripping unit are applied to the forming unit including a micro press equipped with a die system. The analysis focuses on verifying the results already extracted from previous researches by implementing all mentioned units together. A motion study of the system gives an overview of different steps and movements inside the multi stage former. Significantly, increasing the production rate increases the acceleration and also causes the time frame tight. The time limitations put overlaps on the moving parts in terms of milliseconds. A high speed camera was used in the experiments with high resolution to show the details of the motion while enabling to detect any unwanted movement within milliseconds. Importantly, increasing the frequency of image capturing within the movement is another beneficial feature in the high speed camera in order to give sufficient information on critical movements where they may need sensors and enough time to ensure getting at the right position as programmed. In this research the production rate raised to 169 strokes per minute. The results show that the concept introduced for the manipulator works very well at a real process implementation. This significantly approves the techniques already were given to evaluate the precision in the positioning unit and the gripping unit. Copyright © 2013 by ASME.