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Jimmy
gives you personality
Impossible shapes, increasingly sophisticated patterns for treads, extremely definite colour shades and a right touch of customisation are, today more than ever, the decisive elements for the success of the sole. In particular, the customisation - with the introduction of marks or coloured inserts featuring refined patterns - is becoming one of the winning aspects from a commercial point of view.
In order to go over some of the limits imposed by the technologies on the market for this type of operation, G.D.E., a Marche-based company specialised in the design and construction of technical accessories and machines complementary to polyurethane processing, has conceived a new PU melting system in collaboration with ITACA, a company known for the production of special software.
In fact, this system - which is based on the use of a special anthropomorphic robot - allows compact polyurethane to be melted inside the open mould with an accuracy and uniformity difficult to be reached with other methods. A result which has been made possible also thanks to the wide margins of movement of Jimmy which, opportunely programmed, can make the connected mixing head follow all types of routes, such as for example special geometric shapes or alphabet letters. Furthermore, thanks to a special system opportunely studied and conceived inside G.D.E., “Jimmy” is able to recognise the mould on which it should work directly in the machine and, therefore, can perform different types of production, including the most diversified one.
The robot programming operation is carried out in an area which is called “ideal station”, outside the normal working cycle of the rotary machine, in order to avoid interruptions in the production phase.
Operating features of the Jimmy Robot
Thanks to a system - external to the robot - for the acquisition of the data, which are then transferred to a personal computer with the possibility of displaying and modifying them, the set-up is facilitated and the distribution carried out by the robot is made more accurate. Furthermore, the whole system, which also allows mixed PU in small quantities (ex. 1.4 gr/sec) to be melted, is automated as regards the programming of the melting paths, colours, pauses and waiting times, independently of the installation which it is connected to.
The Jimmy Robot, featuring extremely reduced size and easiness of connection to production rotary machines, thanks to the above characteristics, is not only designed for the manufacturing of PU soles, but also for other applications such as, for example, the production of technical articles. |
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