RTS revolutionises high precision mould manufacture in the UK

Keywords: Moulding, Manufacturing, Assembly

International robotic automation specialist RTS has recently received orders from Rosti UK, a tier one supplier to the telecommunications giant Ericsson, for the provision of assembly and moulding automation systems totalling £6.6m.

The fully integrated turnkey project comprises a series of nine mobile phone assembly lines manufacturing up to 12 million phone sub assemblies per year; six standalone assembly machines; and 19 moulding automation cells utilising articulated robots and the RTS Vincent^TM palletising system.

RTS has extensive experience of the mobile telecommunications market having supplied the tier one suppliers to Nokia for many years. This Rosti order confirms RTS's commitment to the industry internationally and introduces Scandinavian technology to the UK in the form of unique moulding and demoulding automation concepts. Differing from the traditional beam robot technology employed in this area, RTS solutions utilise flexible articulated robots providing rapid entry in and out of the die space in conjunction with fast and efficient component positioning on the outfeed tray. The RTS Vincent^TMsystem offers further benefits with its unique tray exchange mechanism permitting tray exchange within the demoulding cycle without interrupting the moulding process. This increases consistency and quality in the moulding process which in turn leads to high assembly quality.

The assembly systems to be supplied are based on a modular concept and are built around a conveyor circuit with standalone stations to suit the assembly sequence. Each system utilises flexible Scara robot technology in conjunction with vision guidance systems and the VincentTM tray handling system (Plate 6). State-of-the-art design and simulation tools will be used throughout the project from the earliest design phase ensuring provision of the optimum technological solution.

 Plate 6 RTS Vincent^TM tray handling system

RTS specialises in providing robotic automation solutions throughout industry. Utilising off-the-shelf, equipment, RTS provides innovative, flexible,customised solutions to satisfy the needs of today's fast moving, fashion oriented consumer goods market.

For further information, please contact: Susan Jones, RTS Thurnall plc,Northbank Industrial Park, Irlam, Manchester M44 5AY, UK. Tel: +44 (0) 161 777 2000; Fax: +44 (0) 61 777 2002; email: sue.jones@rtshurnall.co.uk)