Keeping Cell Phone Windows Clean a Top Priority for One Manufacturer

An injection molding company supplies cell phone windows to a cell phone manufacturer that requires them to be free of flashing, dust or any other markings. The windows also require a die cut adhesive gasket to be placed on one side and a protective clear cover on the other. The windows must be delivered on a reel to the cell phone manufacturer.

A Dual Robot Window Work Cell assembly machine was designed to handle and process the injection molded clear telephone windows. The major components of the work cell are the tray changer, tape machine, dual SCARA robots (one with machine guided vision) and window adhesive gasket machine.

Windows are supplied to the machine in trays. An operator loads trays onto the input stack support of the tray changer where they are separated from the stack one at a time and lowered to a belt conveyor. The conveyor transfers the tray to an unload section where it is accurately indexed in place via a push cylinder. A sensor detects the orientation of the tray.

An Adept Cobra 600 SCARA robot picks up two parts from the tray and places the windows onto the tape machine.

After the tray is unloaded, it is released and transferred to the accumulator station where the trays are advanced upward and accumulated. An operator removes the empty trays from the stack as necessary.

The tape machine cleans the windows by applying tape to the top and bottom sides of the window. Pressure is applied to the top and bottom of the window before the tape machine strips away the tape and presents the window to a nest for the second robot.

The second robot picks a single window from the nest and moves it over a stationary upward looking camera. A camera mounted to the adhesive gasket machine determines the precise location of the adhesive and allows the vision guided robot to accurately place the window. The window is then advanced in the machine and a protective cover material is placed on top of the part. The carrier tape then advances to store the cleaned and completed assembly on a reel for delivery to the customer.

A cycle time for the machine of 3.3 seconds per part was achieved.

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