Scribing the numbers

An automated production systems designer has contained costs and enhanced reliability on his latest machine by using one of the key components to perform not one, but two critical functions.

Bob Jepp, founder and managing director of Robotix in Rugby has developed a high speed production line for scribing traceability serial numbers onto wheel rims for earthmoving equipment. This uses a single Hoerbiger-Origa rodless pneumatic cylinder in the dual critical roles of positioning the scribing head and holding the rim steady in the workstation.

In use, wheel rims, which can vary in size from 24in dia and 15in wide to 40in by 40in, are delivered by a conveyor to the scribing workstation, where V-shaped guides position them accurately.

A rodless cylinder mounted above the workstation descents, positions the scribing head just above the top surface of the rim to an accuracy of 0.01mm. Mounted on the cylinder and protruding beneath it is a pair of Hoerbiger-Origa's linear shock absorbers - these contact the rim with sufficient force to hold the rim steady during scribing.