Magswitch at Automate 2025
What to Expect from Magswitch at Automate 2025
Magswitch Automation has participated as an exhibitor at Automate for several years and in 2025 we will have our biggest booth to date with five robot demos! Come visit us at Booth #1035.
Automate 2025 is sponsored by A3 Association for Advancing Automation and will take place at Huntington Place in Detroit, Michigan from May 12-15. You can register to attend for FREE here.
MACHINE TENDING AND GRINDING ROBOT CELL
The ABB GoFa5 is seated on a Magswitch MagBase 5 which is a magnetic base and allows for mobility of the COBOT in-and-out of work stations. The robot dress package with high flex corrugated tubing from Syndevco keeps the hose utilities and communication cables protected and carefully secured with a flexible clamping system and adjustable straps.
This application demonstrates two Magswitch T20 magnetic grippers in a machine tending and grinding application. The T20s are mounted to a 90-degree PQ90 module from Impaqt Robotics. The Impaqt PQ90 has an integrated valve package and connected to a Digital I/O module to communicate with the ABB GoFa, which allows for easy control over each Magswitch T20.
One Magswitch T20 has a custom pole shoe that allows for side-pick of the rods. The other T20 has longer, step-under pole shoes for handling smaller parts. The Magswitch T20s can present either the rod or bottle cap opener to the grinding/polishing wheel for finishing while securely handling the part. The grinding/polishing wheel are mounted to a PUSHCORP active compliance device which will monitor for a constant force or position (to indicate wear on the media wheel).
Thank you to our partners that collaborated with us on this demo:
SMART ROBOTIC BIN PICKING CELL
This application demonstrates the Magswitch SMART Electrically-actuated E30 in a random bin picking application on a Yaskawa GP8L robot. The E30 has “smart” features ideal for bin picking, even with the most complex parts:
- Variable Field Output (VFO) – you can vary the level of magnetism from E30. So that means you can lower the magnetic flux field to pick only one part, then turn it up to securely carry the part to the drop position
- Low Power – at 24VDC and only 1 Amp, this tool is perfect for robotic applications
- Proper Part Present Sensing – the E30 can be taught to recognize a correct part with real-time feedback – even with thickness and material grade differences, over a hole or not over a hole.
- Customizable Pole Shoes – allow for optimizing the magnetic flux circuit to flow to the part and maximize holding forces. Coatings are available to increase friction or protect the surface of the part.
- Ethernet/IP IO Device (Ethernet/IP, Profinet, ModbusTCP, and Discrete 24V available)
The robot mounted Magswitch E30 is guided to the part pick position by the Keyence 3D Vision system and then checked for position X, Y by the Keyence 2D Vision System.
Learn more about robotic bin picking with Magswitch E-series here.
Thank you to our partners that collaborated with us on this demo:
ROBOTIC LONG PART HANDLING AND DESTACKING CELL
The Universal Robots UR10e is seated on a Magswitch MagBase 10 2.0 which is a modular, magnetic base and allows for mobility of the COBOT in-and-out of work stations. The robot dress package with high flex corrugated tubing from Syndevco keeps the hose utilities and communication cables protected and carefully secured with a flexible clamping system and adjustable straps.
This application demonstrates the Magswitch PLAY20X4 magnetic gripper destacking angle irons. The PLAY20X4 is mounted to the PQ0 module from Impaqt Robotics. The Impaqt PQ0 has an integrated valve package and UR Cap to communicate with the UR10e controller, which allows for easy control over the PLAY20X4.
The Magswitch PLAY20X4 has custom W-shaped pole shoes which allow the tool to destack and pick-up the angle iron pieces in either peak-up or peak-down orientation. Once the part is picked, it is placed on two Magswitch M30 magnetic grippers as part of a flip station using a clamp arm to rotate the part 90 degrees. Once the part is flipped, the Magswitch PLAY20X4 on the COBOT can regrip from the opposite side to stack on the next station.
Thank you to our partners that collaborated with us on this demo:
NEW PRODUCTS COMING SOON – PLUG & PLAY ELECTRIC TOOLS
Featured in this robot cell is the NEW Magswitch PPE30 and PPE50. Both are electrically-actuated switchable permanent magnets, with part present sensing and designed to be PLUG & PLAY to just about any standard I/O block.
The PPE30 is mounted on the KUKA KR6 robot with custom pole shoes that allow for picking of different parts on three different sides of the magnetic face. The bottom of the PPE30 is picking up a nail plate – challenging application for vacuum or mechanical grippers. The West side of the PPE30 magnet has a pin on the pole shoes to precisely locate a small bracket in a Pick & Place application. And finally, the East side of the PPE30 magnetic gripper has a V-cut to handle a threaded rod.
The PPE50 is being used as a fixturing tool to hold the sign. Excelling in single-sided workholding, Magswitch magnetic grippers are perfect for fixturing applications because they are easy to design in with no kinematics (no moving parts) so the magnet ON looks the same as magnet OFF.
The robot dress package with high flex corrugated tubing from Syndevco keeps the hose utilities and communication cables protected and carefully secured with a flexible clamping system and adjustable straps.
Thank you to our partners that collaborated with us on this demo:
ROBOTIC TRUSS ASSEMBLY CELL
This cell mimics a robotic truss assembly using two KUKA KR70 robots – each with Magswitch ELAY30X5 Electrically-Actuated switchable permanent magnets.
Outer members of the chords are picked one-at-a-time using KUKA Roboteam in a coordinated robot motion and placed in the fixture to form the perimeter. Webs - the internal members that connect the chords and create triangular patterns – are then picked and placed by each KUKA robot and Magswitch ELAY30X5.
The ELAY30X5 has the ability to destack the parts using SMART technology:
- Variable Field Output (VFO) – you can vary the level of magnetism from ELAY30X5. That means you can lower the magnetic flux field to destack one-at-a-time, then turn it up to securely carry the part to the position in the fixture.
- Low Power – at 24VDC and only 2.5 Amp, this tool is perfect for robotic applications
- Proper Part Present Sensing – the ELAY30X5 can be taught to recognize a correct part – even with thickness and material grade differences, over a hole or not over a hole.
- Customizable Pole Shoes – allow for optimizing the magnetic flux circuit to flow to the part and maximize holding forces. Custom W-shaped pole shoes which allow the tool to destack and pick-up the angle iron pieces in either peak-up or peak-down orientation.
- Ethernet/IP IO Device (Ethernet/IP, Profinet, ModbusTCP, and Discrete 24V available)
Each ELAY30X5 has a pneumatically-actuated compliance device on the End of Arm Tool (EOAT) to allow for mis-alignment as long parts tend to bow and bend.
You will notice that the LH KUKA robot will grab one web at-a-time and place. Whereas the RH KUKA robot will grab two and drop one-at-a-time. Using the Variable Field Output feature of the Magswitch ELAY30X5, the RH robot is saving about 5-8 seconds cycle time – this is intentional to show the capabilities of the Magswitch magnetic grippers.
This simulated assembly process would be followed up next by a welding process (not shown in the demo).
The robot dress packages with high flex corrugated tubing from Syndevco keep the hose utilities and communication cables protected and carefully secured with a flexible clamping system and adjustable straps.
Thank you to our partners that collaborated with us on this demo: