FANUC robots automate coin production at Swissmint

Safe loading and unloading with workspace monitoring

Task:
When Swissmint’s existing facility for the production and packaging of coins reached the end of its natural life. Autonomy, ease of operation and compact layout were the principal factors topping the list of priorities in Swissmint’s pursuit of the optimal solution.

Solution:
A trio of class-leading industrial robots from FANUC are now fully operational at Swissmint: LR Mate 200iD, LR-10iA/10 and M-20iD/25 models. The robots fulfil important roles such as packing coin rolls, erecting boxes and palletising. Regarding the latter task, the solution takes advantage of FANUC PalletTool® software to expedite the set-up of uneven palletising patterns.

Result:
With its three FANUC industrial robots in place, Swissmint now has a fully automated process that extends from individual minted coins to boxed coin rolls on pallets. Certain operations, such as the forming of coin roll layers, have a cycle time of less than 1 second. Complemented by ease of operation and a compact layout, this high-performance, reliable system is helping Swissmint enter a new age of minting for both Swiss coins and collectables.

About Swissmint

Swissmint, the Federal Mint of Switzerland is part of the Government’s Federal Finance Administration. The 17-employee facility, located in Bern, provides circulatory coins for daily transactions on behalf of the Swiss Confederation. It also mints commemorative coins, made mostly from silver and gold, including the world-famous Vreneli.

FANUC robots add value in coin minting application

With the existing minting facility at Swissmint set for decommissioning due to its age, the organisation issued a public tender for its replacement. According to Adrian Richli, Head of Technology at Swissmint, mandatory criteria for the new system included: “Layout, autonomy, compactness and ease of operation.”

Based on its robust and comprehensive proposal, Soldati AG, an Emmen-based specialist in bespoke machine building and automation, won the tender.

“Swissmint wanted an automation system that could automate everything from individual coins to palletised boxes, including inspection processes,” explains Oliver Heinrich, Product Manager and Developer at Soldati AG. “The biggest challenge was processing the individual coin rolls in under 1 second. However, we are very innovative and found a new way of forming coin rolls into complete layers within the required cycle time. This was vital to the success of the project because minimising the cycle time here affects all subsequent parts of the system.”

According to Heinrich, FANUC’s extensive product portfolio made it easy for Soldati to identify the optimal robots for the tasks at hand.

Regarding the various phases of system automation at Swissmint, minted coins are transferred to the first robot cell in individual rolls that have already undergone processes such as weighing and printing (on the roll exterior).

Within the robot cell, coin rolls are aligned at high speed into complete layers before a FANUC LR Mate 200iD compact industrial robot picks 10 rolls simultaneously and places them into boxes. The boxes have already been automatically grasped, erected, stapled and transferred to the coin roll packaging system with the assistance of a FANUC LR-10iA/10 compact industrial robot, which is ideal for a variety of vertical picking and machine-tending applications.

The system subsequently closes the flap of each box individually prior to strapping, weighing and printing operations. The boxes then see transfer to the labelling unit.

Another particular challenges was facilitating the unusually uneven palletising patterns required by Swissmint. Here, a special robot gripper and palletising program, created with ease using PalletTool® palletising software from FANUC, makes light work of this otherwise complex task. With the PalletTool® program, a FANUC M-20iD/25 industrial robot uses its high-speed motion and proven repeatability to place the small but heavy boxes in the correct positions on the pallet.

“The project was a complete success,” reports Heinrich. “We built a high-performance system in a very small space that can produce a roll of coins in under a second.”

He adds: “FANUC is a very reliable partner - working with us in this project to develop customer-specific solutions - some of which are not yet available commercially.”

FANUC products used

M-20iD/25

Offering high performance in a small footprint, the FANUC M-20iD/25 is ideally suited to loading and unloading machines as well as parts handling and positioning in crowded factory environments. For best access, it features a compact arm and wrist and, thanks to its new improved design and drive train, offers significantly higher axis speeds and motion performance.

LR-10iA/10

The FANUC LR-10iA/10 is a compact 6-axis robot designed for machine tending, as well as a variety of picking applications found in the warehousing and logistics markets. This robot is an ideal solution for companies with limited floor space, as its slim arm fits into machine tools to load and unload parts.

LR Mate 200iD

The FANUC LR Mate 200iD is a compact 6 axis robot with the approximate size and reach of a human arm. It combines best-in-class robot weight-load capacity with standard IP67 protection and outstanding FANUC quality. This makes the LR Mate 200iD the best and most reliable mini robot for process automation in many industries.