Flexxbotics, delivering workcell digitalization for robot-driven manufacturing, today announced robot connectivity compatibility for machine tending with all of the FOBA Laser Marking + Engraving products. Flexxbotics includes communication with FOBA’s integrated camera system for vision-based inspection providing closed-loop feedback to the robot for autonomous process control. With Flexxbotics robot-driven operation of FOBA equipment customers achieve continuous operation, greater throughput and higher yields.
FOBA Laser Marking + Engraving (Alltec GmbH) provides precision laser marking systems and laser engraving machines including fiber laser markers and UV laser markers, as well as, ultrashort pulse laser markers, CO2 laser markers and green laser markers for a diverse range of applications and industries. The patent-pending FlexxCORE technology in the Flexxbotics solution enables robots to securely connect and communicate with the FOBA laser marking and engraving equipment including the integrated camera systems for robotic orchestration of part processing with in-line inspection. Flexxbotics compatibility includes the FOBA MarkUS control, as well as, FOBA’s digital I/O’s, PROFINET, Profibus/TCP/IP and EtherCAT.
“Connecting robotic machine tending with our FOBA laser marking solution using Flexxbotics provides an even greater Return on Investment,” said Jeffrey A Kniptash, FOBA’s Sales Manager for Americas. “Enabling Flexxbotics robot-driven manufacturing with our FOBA laser marking and engraving equipment to enable autonomous process control can remove bottlenecks and deliver continuous operation.”
Flexxbotics solution coordinates robot actions with FOBA’s three-stage marking process which includes part inspection prior to marking, automatic mark alignment, and subsequent validation of the marking. Flexxbotics utilizes either the Intelligent Mark Positioning (IMP) or Point & Shoot (P&S) capabilities in the FOBA equipment for precise alignment of the laser marker on the customer’s product along with vision-assisted workflows for unmatched accuracy if touch-up is needed.
“Combining FOBA with Flexxbotics is particularly valuable in industries with strict regulatory compliance requirements that dictate the highest levels of repeatable precision such as medical devices and surgical products along with aerospace, defense and space,” explained Tyler Bouchard, Co-founder & CEO of Flexxbotics. “Environments that require rapid and accurate processing like semiconductor and electronics operations also benefit substantially. With Flexxbotics and FOBA together customers can optimize cycle-time, expand capacity and increase profit per part.”
Flexxbotics workcell digitalization is the backbone of the Smart Factory, delivering robot-driven manufacturing at scale with autonomous process control for advanced machining operations. Flexxbotics’ SaaS/hybrid architecture also runs both online and offline so production continues with or without internet access, and Flexxbotics works with existing business systems as well such as CAD/CAM, SCADA/HMI, IIoT, MES, ERP, PLM and others for complete synchronization.
A full set of bidirectional communication, transform and routing capabilities are available in Flexxbotics for the robots and FOBA equipment that are connected including loading programs, sending instructions, updating parameters and status awareness depending on the equipment’s capabilities so the robots control and command the smart factory machinery.
Download case study on Flexxbotics running Universal Robots with FOBA Laser Marker at SpiTrex Orthopedics https://flexxbotics.com/case-studies/spitrex-foba/.
