Yesterday I visited the TRUMPF Inc. Smart Factory in Hoffman Estates, IL. The occasion was showing off—and explaining—the company’s future automated sorting solutions to its fabricating customers. A few media types were invited also.
This latest advance goes, philosophically and sequentially, in the opposite direction of so many functions proffered by machine tool makers. TRUMPF, as well as its competitors AMADA, Bystronic, Salvagnini, and others, takes an umbrella-type approach to software, for example. Specialized areas use specialized software, and each of these areas reports up into a “suite” approach, complete with live data collection and management systems that are up to the second and traverse every aspect of a company.
Alternatively, some of the anticipated success of this future sorting technology will come because the company has atomized what was a combined process—skeleton/part separation, often done on the slats after laser cutting. (One might award a prize to whomever paused and thought about part separation as its own linear step.)
In the new process, a LiftMaster Compact loading and unloading system removes the cut sheet from the pallet changer of the cutting machine and transfers it to the SortMaster Station, where it separates parts from skeleton in a few seconds.
Separated parts are then conveyed to the sorting area, the domain of the SortMaster Vision, which independently obtains all the part information from the cutting program, uses it to simulate various removals in advance, and selects the most suitable one at runtime. No programming is necessary to sort.
TRUMPF’s partner on this technology is Intrinsic (Mountain View, CA), and the two companies have joined forces for several years attacking the problems of automated perception (the act of “seeing” and recognizing) and robot path planning (how to best approach a part, taking into account its current orientation and the best places to grip it).
While these innovations are being demonstrated right now, they cannot be purchased in the U.S. until September 2026 (for the SortMaster Station) and into 2027 (for the SortMaster Vision).
It seems like the entire robotics industry has been focused on palletizing for a couple of years. This is causing no small bit of frustration for fabricators, many of whom do not palletize their outbound parts or products the way one would consumer package goods. Instead, fabricators need robotics and a combination of automation types to help them do the following tasks:
- Part sorting;
- Machine tending;
- Material transport;
- Inspection, including rotation and lighting;
- And a handful more.
These are the hot-button issues right now for fabricators. One thing is certain, the several-score fabricators present at the Smart Factory were paying close attention when these systems were running.