Ecotile, manufacturer of interlocking
floor tiles, has fully automated its
manufacturing process using a single
Fanuc Robotics robot working
between two Sumitomo Demag 500t
injection moulding presses.

Hi-Tech Automation supplied a
Fanuc Robotics M710iC robot,
mounted on a seventh axis, to handle
mouldings from press to pallet.

Handling the PVC tile at 63°C at
ejection from the press meant that
gripper design was critical to
success. It grips the outer edges of
the tile while still in the press tool,
then moves it to a desprue station
and positions it in a cooling rack.

After a set period of cooling, the
robot uses a vacuum to pick up the
tile and palletise it in one of two
palletising areas. The gripper places
a cardboard protection tile between
layers.

Ecotile can now run batches of
any size, colour or design and the
robot provides a consistently high
quality product.