In mid-September RoboJob presented the Tower Advanced at the EMO trade show in Hannover. This ‘all-rounder’ in CNC automation is being set up on a Mazak Integrex j-200 during Mazak’s Open House in Haasrode. Using the Tower Advanced, not only workpieces can be loaded, but also pallets and clamping devices. In Haasrode, for example, a Hainbuch clamping system is used, with which the robot not only loads and unloads the workpieces, but also the Hainbuch system’s clamps. To make that possible, the grippers of the robot are also exchanged automatically.
Where there have been several suppliers of CNC Automation present at Mazak’s Open House for years, at this edition RoboJob appears to be the only supplier in the high end of the market. The Tower Advanced is therefore ideal for the automation of ‘high mix, low volume’ production in machining. It confirms Mazak’s confidence in the RoboJob Tower.
This is also apparent from the recent news that Mazak itself has purchased no less than 4 Towers: "We installed this at Yamazaki Mazak's production site in Worcester," says CEO Helmut De Roovere. “They’re used in Mazak's own production there, and in both cases it’s a dual setup with 2 Towers for one machine. All rough workpieces are housed in one Tower, and the finished components are placed in the second Tower. The operator can also load and unload the Tower without having to interrupt the robot's work. So there is full focus on the autonomy of the machine.”
It shows to the outside world that the cooperation between Mazak and RoboJob is not only going smoothly, but that Mazak also has every confidence in using RoboJob's products in its own production.
The Tower Advanced can therefore also soon be put to work in Haasrode. Mazak opens its doors from 26 through to 28 November, 2019, each time from 14.00 hrs to 21.00 hrs.
