Among plastic molded products, those with thinner constructions that are used in tableware and kitchen utensils, medical equipment, optical disks and other fields are mass produced. There is a strong call in these fields for higher production efficiency. For that reason, using part removal robots in molding processes to shorten total cycle times using higher-speed operation has become a primary focus of interest. A tiny difference of a fraction of a second in the cycle time can mean a huge difference in the overall productivity of the plant. Another demand is for machines that can repeat the same operation many thousands of times in succession without an error. The part removal robot is a dedicated machine that can meet these exacting demands continuously, at ultra-high speeds. With the explosive growth taking place in the information equipment market, a world record of 0.069 seconds has been achieved in the field of mass-produced CDs, DVDs, and other optical disks (by the ultra-high speed disk part removal robot DRDIII). That achievement has been highly acclaimed by the industry worldwide.

Part removal robots have advanced as dedicated devices that take products out of plastic injection molding machines. As new advances are made every year in automation and labor saving in the molding plant, however, more diverse and more sophisticated functions are called for in part removal robots. For example, let's look at a special type of molding called insert molding. Here, metal fittings are inserted into molds ahead of time. The mold is then filled with the melted resin so that the molded products are integrated with the fittings as they are molded. The fittings have to be inserted into the molds extremely precise. Conventionally, this work was done by hand, or dedicated insertion devices were used. In order to have part removal robots perform this function in addition to their part removal work, they needed to be able to stop precisely and repeatedly at a given position. The servo part removal robot developed by Yushin takes out products with an outstanding "repeated stopping precision" of ±0.05 mm, handling complex operations like this simply and easily. We were the first in the industry to introduce the servo motor as the drive unit for part removal robots. Since then we have amassed a wealth of servo motor drive technology and know-how which has led to achieving this high level of precision.

Starting from the automated removal of molded products from molds, Yushin has long been working to streamline operations in the plastic molding plant. Keeping our view fixed firmly ahead, we have focused on post-molding processes from part removal to shipping of the products, and have maintained a concept of total automation, a reduced need for personnel, and achieving the unmanned "ideal molding plant." One concrete result of this vision is the "Y-MAP II molding plant management FA system." This is a comprehensive system package software that handles all aspects of FA (Factory Automation)machinery control and production information control in the overall plant, from the point at which the product is taken out of the injection molding machine to where it is shipped. Centralized management of production information helps achieve significantly lower costs. It is bringing about a shift from labor-intensive plant systems to the next-generation molding plant that offers far higher productivity. Response has been strongly positive, and it has brought a flood of orders from manufacturers both here in Japan and abroad.

Another emphasis at Yushin is developing technology that is easier for people to use. For instance, let's look at controllers. As long as running the equipment requires special expertise on the part of the operator, we have not met our goal, which is a robot that can be operated by any worker without special training. That is why we design our robot control systems entirely in-house and why we use extra-large, touch-panel screens measuring 10.4 inches that are easy to read. As much as possible, we do away with text displays on our screens. We use graphics that offer higher visibility. Our Help functions follow the instruction manuals precisely to assure that our machines can be operated and settings can be entered at any point, by any operator. Moreover, as the manufacturing industry becomes increasingly global, we are providing our machines with displays in up to eight different languages so that the user can select the desired language for display. This is just one part of our ongoing effort to meet the needs of the manufacturing industry at every level.