Adept to provide robots, vision for automated assembly

Livermore, CA; San Diego, CA —Adept Technology Inc. reports that Prodosyst Automation has standardized on Adept’s robots, vision systems and controls for Prodosyst’s TrueFlex automated medical device assembly system.

By Control Engineering Staff December 30, 2003

Livermore, CA; San Diego, CA— Adept Technology Inc. reports that Prodosyst Automation has standardized on Adept’s robots, vision systems and controls for Prodosyst’s TrueFlex automated medical device assembly system. Prodosyst chose Adept’s Cobra SCARA robots and AdeptVision with Adept ObjectFinder locator tool for Prodosyst’s vision-based parts feeding and automated assembly operations.

TrueFlex uses high-speed robots and easy-to-train vision systems with interchangeable part fixtures and pre-programmed assembly ‘recipes’ to provide modular, flexible, easy-to-configure assembly systems. These enable medical device manufacturers to cost effectively apply automa-tion across entire product lines, and more easily justify automation investments.

Adept manufactures flexible automation for the medical device and life sciences, semiconductor, electronics, automotive, fiber optic, and telecommunications industries. Prodosyst supplies automated systems for medical device manufacturing.

‘We’re pleased that Prodosyst has standardized on Adept robots and vision systems. Their selection continues to validate Adept’s leadership in high-performance flexible robotic automation,’ says John Dulchinos, Adept’s sales VP. ‘TrueFlex offers medical device manufacturers a flexible and cost-effective method for introducing automation into their manufacturing operations.’

David Stroup, Prodosyst’s chairman and CTO, adds that, ‘Adept’s tightly integrated robots, vision system and software allowed us to develop the TrueFlex as a truly flexible automated part feeding and assembly system that can be easily deployed. With Adept’s powerful robot and vision products and Prodosyst’s extensive medical device assembly experience, we believe TrueFlex offers manufacturers an easy-to-support assembly system that enables rapid product changeover and quickly adapts to product changes with minimum downtime and retooling costs.’

TrueFlex is designed to meet the needs of the medical device industry, which demands automated systems able to quickly perform part changeovers and adapt to new products. Using high-speed robotics and vision guidance, TrueFlex allows parts to be fed into the assembly process without relying on dedicated bowl feeders and part-specific escapements. With Prodosyst’s unique interchangeable part fixtures and preprogrammed assembly ‘recipes,’ parts changeover can be easily achieved with minimum delays and risk. TrueFlex’s design allows easy access to all part feeders, robots and electrical panels minimizing maintenance and downtime.

Adept’s Cobra SCARA robots deliver a combination of performance, ease-of-integration and scalability. Adept Cobra s600 robot includes an embedded multi-channel amplifier in the robot for simple integration and maximum ease-of-use. Cobra s600 offers advanced options for vision-guided motion, conveyor tracking, and auxiliary axes for automation needs. Using Adept’s SmartServo architecture, which replaces hundreds of wires and connections with a single FireWire (IEEE-1394) cable, multiple Adept robots can be controlled and coordinated from a single Adept controller. Cobra robots are available in cleanroom configurations for medical device assembly applications.

AdeptVision sAVI, Adept’s guidance vision package, includes Adept ObjectFinder vision locator tool that quickly and accurately recognizes multiple objects and patterns regardless of orientation and scale. Adept ObjectFinder uses advanced object recognition technology, resulting in robust performance in vision-guided assembly and vision-based part feeding applications.

Prodosyst is a systems integrator and designer of turnkey, high-speed automation systems. Prodosyst designs and manufactures advanced, fully integrated automation systems tailored to meet its customer’s unique production needs. Prodosyst is experienced in a wide range of industries including medical device, pharmaceutical and life sciences.

Control Engineering Daily News DeskJim Montague, news editorjmontague@reedbusiness.com