Forming
Swabbing robots reinforced with experience
� Novaxion swabbing robot.
Over the past 15 years, Novaxion France has successfully installed 100 swabbing robots around the world. Frédéric Nio* explains the company’s recent changes made in partnership with the Rondot group.
Swabbing smartly Novaxion specialises in robotics technologies for the glass industry, offering solutions for the automatic swabbing of blank moulds and neck rings on IS machines. Innovative developments, an individual approach to each customer, along with professional engineering and management, are among the qualities that have positioned the company as a specialist in the industry over the last 15 years. In 2005, Novaxion decided to integrate a reliable industrial model of robot from Fanuc, a global manufacturer of factory automation, thereby adding an important example of automation to the production of glass containers. Initially, the company offered gathering robots for the handcraft and semiautomatic production of glassware but in 2008, a high-performance swabbing robot was introduced to apply a specially engineered swabbing spray to the moulds. The decision was taken to ‘smartly’ spray the lubricant on to the cavity of the mould, an approach recognised as
the ultimate solution to offer both neck ring and mould swabbing. All other existing carbon sooting or swabbing tool management solutions required a manual swab to the neck ring. Novaxion’s solution provides effective and independent lubrication of the blank moulds and neck rings using a dedicated arm and nozzle. Under air pressure, the swabbing lubricant (oil) is sprayed inside the mould while it’s closed, ensuring the even distribution of a thin film of lubricant. This solution results from an extensive and focused development of the spraying tool, specific nozzle studies and spraying profiles, combined with lubricants and their behaviour. As a result, the pattern of lubrication during automatic mould swabbing can be customised specifically to each production or cavity design.
Automation and lubrication The swab motion is fully controlled and monitored by the robot control unit, in terms of position and speed. Motion synchronisation is triggered by the IS
forming control system. The swabbing robot is fully automated and all parameters can be configured for each section individually. This means that each section can have a different swabbing profile, depending on the ware produced (e.g. multi gob feature). The robot is quickly and easily set for a production type and does not use a learning sequence.
Swabbing cycles There are several swabbing modes that can be combined and selected by the operator, including normal and on-thefly. In the normal swabbing process, the blank mould and neck ring lubrication mode, when combined, will require one ‘section cycle’ and consequently, Continued>>
� Typical spraying pattern, equally
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ecent integration with the Rondot group has provided expanded manufacturing facilities for Novaxion. In addition, several management changes have been implemented to better serve and respond to the demand of customers. In April 2021, Mr Nio was named the company’s Managing Director. Having worked as a Senior Manager at Rondot for six years, his association with the glass industry extends over two decades. Mr Nio’s experience will facilitate the company’s integration within the group and its development of sales.
distributed on the mould walls.
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