Multiple types of Robots are used to execute and simplify the injection molding process. These robots help in driving precision, maintaining quality, monitoring in real time, enhancing performance through regulation of pressure and temperature, loading and unloading and a lot more. Below are mentioned the most common types of robots used in various stages and types of plastic injection molding
- Cartesian Robots or Linear Robots– These robots help in removal of fabricated parts, placing mold inserts and stacking of goods. They are easy programmable, lower on costs and operate on x, y and z axis. These robots help in attaining high precision.
- Six Axis robots ( articulated robots)– They have dimensional and movement capacities similar to a human arm and used for welding , quality inspection, assembling and packaging ( owing to its flexibility arising out of movement in multiple angles).
- SCARA ( Selective Compliance Assembly Robot Arms)– They are commonly used in pick and place operations, owing to them being fast and compact and are commonly used in packaging and assembly. Their joints are rotating and have selective compliance on certain axes.
- Delta Robots ( Parallel robots)– they have three arms attached to a platform base and have almost spider like design. The advantage of these robots are high speed operations. They are used in picking, sorting and placing of small parts. they are apt for lightweight operations.
- Collaborative robots ( Cobots)– They are designed to collaborate with humans effectively for repititive tasks and quality control. they are safer for humans than other robots and easier to program than others.
- Palletizing robots– They are effective in high speed and precision activities of material handling like sorting, stacking and packaging of plastic parts.
- Sprue pickers– They are compact, simple and cost effective solutions and assists in removal of sprue (waste) from the molded parts.
Types of robots based on their entry in the mould
- Side entry robots– It enters the mold from the side and is used for faster removal of parts helping in achieving shorter cycle times. They are best for high speed operations.
- Top entry robots-It enters from the top of the injection molding machine and handles heavy payloads. they are used for extracting parts and stacking them.
(Source: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Movement-Structure-and-the-Main-Robot-Parts-22_fig5_40541081)
- Track robots– They are mounted on a track(linear) to simultaneously reach several moulding machines. They are generally used in automating the functions of multiple machines in a row and is usually employed in large manufacturing units.
Multifunction through arms
- Dual Arm robots– They have two arms for enhancing productivity by performing two tasks at one time. they are generally used for complex assembly and high speed operations apart from quality and batch inspections.
- End of arm tooling (EOAT) robots– the arms of these robots are attached to specialized tools for gripping, trimming, excision and suction tasks.
Others
Injection unit servo robots– They reduce cycle times and improve consistency of operations. they can be integrated with the injection unit to regulate injection speed and accuracy.
Vision guided robots– Owing to their high magnification cameras and AI imaging, they are highly accurate and are exhaustively used in quality inspections, batch defect detection, and precision replacement of parts.
Injection molding stages specific functional robots
- Milling and trimming robots– used for milling, trimming and deburring of moulded parts. owing to their precision , they are used for uniform finishing post moulding of parts.
2. Conveyor robots– They are integrated with conveyor systems for moving parts during different stages of plastic injection molding.
( Paper-A pneumatic conveyor robot for color detection and sorting. Author links open overlay panel Mohammadreza Lalegani Dezaki a, Saghi Hatami a, Ali Zolfagharian b, Mahdi Bodaghi )
3. Insert moulding robots– It is used in insert molding process for inserting metal parts and threads in the mould before the process of plastic injection initiates.
4. Gantry Robots– It handles heavy payload and is used for palletizing and handling larger parts in conjunction with an overhead framework.
5. Robotic Welding System– They ensure consistent weld quality and are used for ultrasonic welding or hot plate welding and for joining moulded components.
6. Labeling Robots– They are used for in-mould decoration, for placing labels in the mould. They are generally used in food and beverage industry.
7. Painting robots– They are used for automating spray painting of the fabricated plastic parts. They ensure consistent finishing and are generally used in automotive and electronics industry.
Compelling Statistics
- Market Growth: The robotic injection molding machine market is projected to grow by USD 116.32 million between 2022 and 2027, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.79% during this period.
- Efficiency and Productivity: Automation in injection molding enhances efficiency and consistency. Robotic systems and advanced software enable continuous operation without fatigue, leading to significant increases in production rates and faster project completion times.
- Market Size: In 2023, the global robotic injection molding machines market was valued at approximately USD 2.48 billion and is expected to reach USD 3.13 billion by 2032, reflecting a CAGR of 2.6% over the forecast period.
- Adoption of Advanced Robotics: The injection molding industry is increasingly adopting six-axis articulated robots for unloading and downstream processing of parts, replacing traditional extractors. This shift offers greater flexibility and efficiency in manufacturing processes.