247TailorSteel: Fully Automated Deburring Loading with AI

Schmalz's Solution

In close partnership, EMA Techniek and Schmalz developed a custom robotic loading cell as a seamless extension of the Timesavers deburring machine. The solution combines EMA Techniek's system integration expertise with Schmalz's know-how for intelligent gripping. The Solution Kit ivOS Sheet Metal – an intelligent vision operating system – powers autonomous material handling for sheet metal processing. The system combines three essential components working in perfect harmony. The 3D Vision System detects workpieces on pallets, capturing their position, orientation, and geometry in real-time. The ivOS AI-based software recognizes each workpiece – regardless of shape or size – and intelligently activates the relevant suction cups of the Matrix Area Gripper FMG, a highly flexible vacuum gripper with individually controllable suction cups. This combination enables unprecedented flexibility: one gripper handles the company's entire product variety without retooling or gripper changes, mixed pallets are processed without manual intervention, and new geometries are recognized autonomously without any teach-in process. The system operates on a plug-and-work principle, with no complex programming knowledge required. This reduces the integration time for machine builders. Robots cost-effectively handle small batch sizes and high part variability, while state-of-the-art AI algorithms embed decades of Schmalz sheet metal expertise directly into the automation process. A single operator can now supervise multiple finishing stations simultaneously, completely eliminating manual transport and drastically reducing labor costs. The Digital Engineering Service accelerated the design and configuration of the Solution Kit ivOS Sheet Metal through automated digital analysis of thousands of gripping points and holding forces, reducing engineering time from weeks to days while delivering a cost efficient, reliable solution tailored to the customer's specific wished. Schmalz enriched the solution by complementing automation with the Vacuum Tube Lifter JumboErgo and JumboFlex, as well as the Vacuum Lifting Device VacuMaster Comfort for manual operations, creating flexibility across the entire handling spectrum. These systems are specifically designed to safely lift metal sheets weighing up to 200 kg, enabling ergonomic handling and reducing operator strain. This comprehensive approach automatically manages cut metal sheets from pallets through edge finishing operations while maintaining consistent cycle times throughout the production workflow. 247TailorSteel has achieved safer working conditions, lower operational costs, and sustained production stability while completely eliminating manual transport – all without compromising workflow speed, requiring extensive training, or disrupting existing processes.