Laser robot on thermoformed parts
Thermoforming creates hot-molded plastic parts. Their finishing is done with the laser.
Thermoforming is a technique for hot-molding plastics: the resulting parts are called thermoformed parts, and their finishing can be carried out with the laser.
How the laser robot works on thermoformed parts
The finishing processes are trimming and creating openings in the body of the thermoformed part: operations that require a precise, fast cutting tool and a 5-axis motion system.
The RX3 laser robot meets these needs, combining the flexibility of the robot with the advantages of laser cutting.
Laser cutting is clean, precise and fast, and takes place with no physical contact between the cutting head and the thermoformed part. This eliminates any risk of deformation and greatly simplifies the positioning jigs, reducing loading and unloading times as well as manufacturing costs.
The Cutlite Penta RX3 laser robot
The RX3 laser robot, developed by Cutlite Penta and paired with the CO2 laser, is a cost-effective, capable 5-axis system, particularly suited to machining thermoformed components, including composite ones.
It is made up of the following main components:
- A console housing the CO2 laser source, its power supplies, the interface with the robot and the air-filtering system that keeps the optical paths clean.
- The articulated arm with seven degrees of freedom, which directs the laser beam to the robot elbow.
- The robot, equipped with a further optical path of four mirrors that direct the beam to the robot wrist, where the focusing head is mounted.
- The chiller for cooling the laser source.
The Cutlite Penta solution has the great advantage of having only the focusing head on the robot wrist: thanks to its small size and weight, it does not limit accessibility while machining the thermoformed part.
In addition, the use of RF series lasers, with output power from 350 to 850 W, made by El.En. (a company of the same group), does not require replacing the source: each one is equipped with a small 1-liter laser-gas cylinder at 6 bar which, through automatic control, tops up the laser mix and prevents the source performance from decaying over time.
With no work table of its own, the RX3 lends itself to being paired with automatic part-handling systems, such as rotary tables, which allow loading and unloading in masked time and greatly improve the cycle time. This is an important aspect, as it allows the solution to be customized to the specifics of the job.
Autofocus: an extra plus
The RX3 can be equipped with a module that controls the correct focal distance between the cutting head and the workpiece. The module measures the head-to-part distance in real time and, if it is not correct, commands the robot to restore it.
The RX3 is currently compatible only with the ABB IRB 2600 ID 200 and 180 robots.
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