Meet ‘SAM,' Sumitomo (SHI) Demag's own robot series

Sumitomo (SHI) Demag Plastics Machinery GmbH introduced its own robot series for handle-and-place applications.

The new SAM-C — think Sumitomo Demag, automation machine and Cartesian for the name — is debuting in four payload sizes of 3, 5, 10 and 20 kilograms.

Sumitomo (SHI) Demag has been using robot technology to automate its injection molding machines since the middle of the 1990s.

Until now, however, the company relied on external partners, including Sepro Group and its standard SDR Sepro robot.

Going forward, Sumitomo (SHI) Demag is expanding its range of automation solutions with proprietary robots. Central components, such as the drives, are sourced from the Lafert Group, an Italy-based Sumitomo Drive Technologies subsidiary.

The change is in response to increased demand from the medical, health care, aerospace, automotive, electronics and packaging sectors for scalable systems with more automation, according to Jürgen Schulze, Sumitomo Demag's director of automation

"We studied the market requirements for two years before the actual product development was started. We have used the COVID-19 pandemic to use the freed-up resources here," Schulze said in an email.

The study indicated injection molding machine buyers want flexible standardized production solutions that need less intervention and maintenance while fitting inside small footprints.

Sumitomo (SHI) Demag plans to expand the platform in phases over the next two years by adding other robot kinematics and functions.

"In addition to the necessary assistance systems — remote maintenance, predictive maintenance and analytics — we see a need for robot mechanics that are more oriented towards the needs of flexible production, [such as] the integration to customer-specific intralogistics systems," Schulze said.

"Robotics, in a wide variety of forms, will find its way even more strongly," he said, looking at the long-term strategy. "The shortage of skilled workers and the desired variety of products will accelerate this even further."

The Sepro partnership, which dates back to 2009, will be maintained within the new Sumitomo Robotics platform.

"The distribution of SDR robots will remain in its previous scope," Schulze said.

By having its own SAM robots brand, Sumitomo (SHI) Demag is meeting a strategic goal to provide technology engineered specifically for the company's injection molding machines, Schulze added.

"The world is growing together, and this requires end-to-end solutions for all our markets. Today's customer requirements have meant that we wanted a very production-oriented solution and not a 'me-too' product," he said.

For one project, Sumitomo Demag succeeded in engineering the smallest automated injection molding cell with a robot and material handling technology.

The molding cell uses Sumitomo Demag's in-house servo motor technology, low-maintenance drive and guide technology, and energy-efficient vacuum technology.

The robots' hardware and software controls are integrated into the injection molding unit to optimize production.

To meet Industry 4.0 and smart manufacturing requirements, the robot's communication system, intelligent sensors and actuators can be connected to the automation system.

The new SAM robots were designed specifically for injection molding machines with clamping force sizes between 50 and 500 tons. The robots are suited for standard applications with cycle times of 10 seconds and higher.

At Fakuma, Sumitomo (SHI) Demag is featuring two handle-and-place applications for liquid silicone rubber and in-mold decoration (IMD).

The machine builder is demonstrating the production of a radar-capable transceiver component for autonomous driving systems using an all-electric injection molding IntElect 220/660-1100 machine equipped with a plasticizing unit to process optical-grade polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA).

This is a new application for automotive exteriors, according to Sumitomo (SHI) Demag CEO Gerd Liebig.

"Customers want the look and feel of a metallic surface on the exterior, but radar can't go through a metallic surface," he said. "You can put a radar sensor behind this and the radar can go through. This is an option you didn't have before."

Leonard Kurz Stiftung and Co., specialists in thin film technology and functional decorative coatings, adapted the process, which involves repositioning the IMD films to the movable platen during each cycle with a film feed device.

The transceiver and its plastic cover, or badge as it is also called, are designed for exterior uses to measure, detect and locate obstacles and enhance autonomous driver safety by interacting with the environment.

A SAM 10-C linear robot adapted to the fixed clamping plate is used for removal of the component. It then takes over the complete part handling, using suction cups to remove the part from the injection molding tool, before storing it on the servomotor sliding table and then smoothly transferring the component onto the conveyor belt.

For high-tech automotive radar surfaces, IMD is an economically viable and more sustainable option, offering design freedom, repeatability and energy efficient production, according to Henrik Langwald, director of automotive and electronics business development at Sumitomo (SHI) Demag.

"Indium-based metalization is radar-compatible," he said in a news release. "Using this technique means that the functions of corresponding sensors located around a vehicle are not disturbed. Such systems offer an important design advantage over conventional sensors because they can be concealed using optically non-transparent materials. This is due to the different wavelengths of the radar beams compared to visible light beams."

"The IMD decoration process also supports component recyclability," Langwald said, pointing to both IMD components and sprues, including decorative layers, that can be recycled.

In addition, he said the thin-film metalization takes place within the decor so there are no hazardous chrome-6 issues.