EuroBLECH: TRUMPF achieves breakthrough in automated sorting

Ditzingen / Hanover, October 23, 2024 – At EuroBLECH 2024, TRUMPF is presenting a completely new solution for the automated sorting of 2D laser-cut parts. With the SortMaster Station and the SortMaster Vision, customers will be able to sort parts particularly reliably and without any programming effort. The key to this is that the SortMaster Station removes the parts from the sheet metal in the first step, regardless of their geometry. The machine operator then sorts the separated parts manually or has them removed and palletized fully automatically by the SortMaster Vision. Meanwhile, the laser cutting machine is already processing the next sheet. “The automated sorting of parts is one of the biggest challenges in the sheet metal world. Conventional methods are particularly suitable for simple components with medium sheet thicknesses of up to 12 millimeters. For many companies, their common automation solutions are too inflexible and time-consuming to program, so they have their parts sorted by hand. With the SortMaster Station and the SortMaster Vision, TRUMPF enables automated sorting of any sheet metal parts and once again demonstrates its technological leadership,” said TRUMPF CTO for Machine Tools Thomas Schneider. TRUMPF offers its customers the new solution in a 3-meter format for the laser cutting machines of the 3000 and 5000 series.

Reliable and fully automated removal

The solution uses the LiftMaster Compact loading and unloading automation system from TRUMPF. It removes the cut sheet from the pallet changer of the cutting machine and transfers it to the SortMaster station. This separates the components from the scrap skeleton in just a few seconds. The separated parts are then conveyed to the sorting area. “With our solution, we have decoupled the cutting, separating and sorting processes from each other for the first time. This allows users to better utilize the laser machine and increase their throughput,” explained Schneider. A third pallet station also enables parallel manual sorting, for example for special formats.

Sorting with cameras and intelligent software

The SortMaster Vision is used for automated sorting. “Partnering for several years with Intrinsic, a leading AI and robotics software company in the Alphabet Group, we have introduced adaptive robotics capabilities to SortMaster Vision, including automated perception and robot path planning. This enables a robot to autonomously recognize the separated parts using AI-supported image recognition,” said Schneider. The software autonomously calculates the robot’s motion plan including the gripping points. The SortMaster Vision independently obtains all the part information from the cutting program. It uses this to simulate various removals in advance and selects the most suitable one at runtime. This eliminates the need for any programming of the sorting process. In addition, the process creates maximum flexibility with regard to the range of parts and batch sizes. “Thanks to this innovative process and partnership with Intrinsic, customers can now automatically sort parts that could not be removed using conventional solutions, even with a batch size of one,” said Schneider. These include, in particular, small or complex parts that are prone to tipping over or tilting in the scrap skeleton. But even thicker parts can be separated out and automatically sorted by the sorting process. “This fully automatic solution for separating and sorting is a real game changer,” said Schneider. The two sorting modules can also be retrofitted at a later date, which reduces the initial investment and allows the degree of automation to be increased step by step.    

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