Henkel is a market leader with brands and technologies that are present in many industry segments and carry very recognizable names. Henkel products can be found in industries such as laundry and home care, beauty and personal care, industrial sealants, surface treatments, and adhesives.  Some of the recognizable brand names from Henkel are Purex, Renuzit, Soft Scrub, Right Guard, Dial and the industrial adhesive brand, Loctite.

The Loctite 300 series bench top robot  (Figure 6-1) simplifies the dispensing of adhesives and sealants onto complex surface configurations, such as circuit boards and assemblies.  This system allows the users to repeatedly and reliably dispense patterns of liquid material on a programmed basis resulting in improved process efficiencies, minimal material waste, and reduced overall production costs.

Bench top robots are beam or gantry style units designed specifically for bench top operation.  These robots carry one or more parts that are captured in a fixture which is mounted on the work surface.  Motion in the X axis is achieved by moving the work surface forward and backward.  The Y and Z axis is achieved by moving the tool head or dispensing apparatus left and right as well as up and down respectively on the beam or gantry. 

The Loctite 300 Series Bench top robot has a 300 x 320 mm (11.8” x 12.6”) range of operation.  There are 8 possible configurations of the system which can offer 3 or 4 axes.  The simultaneous control over all axes provides for 3-dimentional linear arc interpolations that are required for complicated dispensing processes. 

Programming the robot for specific functions and applications is not complicated with special user assist software.  It operates in a Microsoft Windows environment and uses basic question and answer prompts for set up and application programming.  The Q&A prompts are part of Henkel’s teach-point programming and comes with 100 pre-set programs and a 6,000 point memory card.
There are other accessories from Loctite which are used in conjunction with the 300 series robot, such as bottle reservoirs, automatic dispense valves, diaphragm valves, and advancing slides. Loctite adhesive dispensing equipment is capable of dispensing and spraying a wide variety of adhesive sealant such as acrylic, anaerobic, cyanoacrylate, epoxy, hot melt, silicone, urethane, and other types of rapid bond adhesives.

There are two common types of curing devices associated with this robotic system. A hand held UV wand and portable bench top UV curing chamber.  Both curing methods are available for demonstration at the EMPF.

The Loctite 300 series robotic dispensing system is designed to simplify and automate adhesive dispensing onto complex surfaces. This system is recommended for high precision and repeatable dispensing of a wide range of adhesive products, leading to improved process efficiencies and lower overall manufacturing costs.

For more information related to this article, or to schedule a demonstration of the Henkel/Loctite 300 series robot located at the EMPF, contact Ken Friedman, 610-362-1200 x 279 or via email at kfriedman@aciusa.org.