Wheel Molds
- Industries: Metal Fabrication, Tire
- Positioning Challenges: Castings
Problem:
The part weights and the reach into the press made handling difficult. The customer used special fixtures and a forklift truck to do the transfer. Rotation was accomplished by setting the mold down and rotating it by hand, before picking it up again with the forklift. The transfer back to the press was very time consuming and much of the pre-heating was lost. This resulted in numerous castings being lost while the mold was reheating again during the process.
Application:
Remove the four pieces that make up a wheel mold from the mold press and hang them on a conveyor rack so that they may be cleaned. Some of the pieces must be rotated to hang on the rack. After shot blasting, the molds are pre-heated and transferred back to the mold press.
Solution:
Pedestal-mounted Taurus® (TPA-10) Manipulator with a downshaft to raise the machine out of the operator’s way. Hydraulic-powered rotator and quick change pin and socket end-effector to interface with the customer’s fixtures. The unit has provided a much faster, easier and safer method of mold handling. Decreased cycle time has resulted in a reduction in scrap, because less heat is being lost and less time is needed to bring the molds back up to temperature.