Products, technology - November/December 2024

PHOTO COURTESY UNITED GRINDING NORTH AMERICA

Automated Tool Production System

With the Automated Tool Production (ATP) system, WALTER now offers a comprehensive automation solution for cutting tools. ATP networks grinding, eroding, and measuring machines from WALTER, as well as upstream and downstream machines from other system partners in the production process.

The ATP system consists of at least one robot cell accessible from the front (ATP ROBOCELL) for the automatic loading and unloading of the machines and at least one autonomous, mobile transport robot (ATP AMR) for transporting the workpiece pallets and individual parts between the storage and processing stations. It requires no additional floor space, can be integrated into existing system layouts, and is also suitable as an interface for machines from other manufacturers.

WALTER customers can easily retrofit the ATP system into their existing production facilities without having to change the existing system layout. Tool manufacturers whose production doesn’t include WALTER machines can also have the ATP system integrated into their existing production.

The ATP ROBOCELL offers three access gates for production without waiting times or downtime. A separate removal station for the in-process exchange of individual tools between the measuring and processing machines enables automatic tool correction for complete closed-loop processes. In the ATP ROBOCELL, a multi-range gripper contributes to the high flexibility of the system.