This machine was designed to assemble and test a medical filter component with a cycle time of two seconds per piece. A Camco cam-driven indexer is used to drive a 16 station rotary dial table with fixtures that secure both the top and bottom halves of the product. These halves are automatically loaded onto the machine by vibratory bowl feeders and a Yamaha 250mm SCARA robot. Two, servo driven reel feeders and die-cut devices are used to supply the filter media and vent membrane. A Dukane ultrasonic welder and a thermal press are used to secure the internal media. Once the product halves are aligned together, a second ultrasonic welder is used to permanently weld the assembly together. A Cognex vision system inspects the welds prior to a Cincinnati Sentinel C-20 leak tester performing the final integrity check. Completed parts are unloaded and sorted by a second Yamaha SCARA robot. An Automation Direct PLC and HMI is used for system control, while a rack mount industrial PC with Visual Basic is used for data collection and traceability. Stainless steel components are used extensively throughout the system as it is designed to operate within a clean room environment.
