Intelligent Gripping - Ready to Automate Sheet Metal Handling

01 Story

In metalworking, automating the handling of sheet metal components has long been a challenge, particularly when dealing with high part variance and small batch sizes. Under the motto "Intelligent Gripping—Ready to Automate Sheet Metal Handling”, Schmalz presents its Solution Kit ivOS Sheet Metal, which combines AI, advanced 3D vision, and adaptive gripping into one cohesive system.

Schmalz developed this system in response to a growing industry need: flexible automation that integrates seamlessly into existing workflows. Traditional robotic systems are often too rigid, require significant customization, and lack the intelligence to adapt to varying parts. With the Solution Kit ivOS Sheet Metal, Schmalz set out to change that.

02 Challenges

Sheet metal handling presents a host of technical challenges that standard automation solutions struggle to overcome:

• Labor shortages & physical strain: Manual loading and unloading of deburring, grinding, straightening, and laser cutting machines is monotonous and physically demanding. This leads to staff turnover and absenteeism, which is especially critical in the face of ongoing labor shortages.
• Part diversity: Production often involves a wide variety of geometries, materials, and batch sizes. Handling this complexity without extensive reprogramming was previously unfeasible.
• Unpredictable presentation: Parts arrive disordered on pallets, vary in stack height, and can shift during transport. Some feature complex shapes with holes and cutouts, which further complicate gripping.
• Accuracy requirements: Despite the above, parts must be picked and placed with precision, particularly when transferring them to conveyor belts of processing machines.
• Vision system limitations: Many 3D cameras struggled with reflective surfaces, changing light conditions, and the need for high-resolution segmentation of shiny, stacked sheet metal parts.

To address these challenges, Schmalz invested in developing a highly integrated system that required minimal user intervention while ensuring high reliability and performance. A major hurdle was getting all components – vision, gripper, and control – to work in sync for 24/7 production with minimal downtime.

03 Solution

Schmalz’s Solution Kit ivOS Sheet Metal was engineered as a plug-and-play module designed to solve these exact challenges. The solution includes:

• AI-Based Software (ivOS): Powers part recognition, gripping prediction, collision avoidance, and robot path planning. It works model-free, meaning parts don't require CAD files to be identified or handled. This allows adaptation to unknown parts from batch size 1.
• 3D Vision with Zivid 2+: Offers HD resolution, artifact reduction, industrial-grade robustness, and coherent pixel-wise data across 3D, 2D, color, and normals – essential for feeding machine learning pipelines and ensuring accurate part segmentation in tough conditions (e.g., reflective surfaces).
• Modular Matrix Area Gripper FMG: Equipped with 84 independently controllable suction cups, the gripper is optimized for sharp-edged and flat components, allowing it to separate and lift stacked sheet metal parts without damage or slippage.

The complete system is mounted on a robot arm – either a large industrial robot or a cobot – with a fully integrated industrial PC and user-friendly HMI. The result is a robust solution capable of:

• Handling part weights up to 50 kg
• Managing thicknesses from 1 to 20 mm
• Recognizing and processing parts from the size of a business card up to a Euro pallet
• Maintaining a pick rate of up to 500 parts per hour
• Achieving ROI in just 2–4 years

Development was split between in-house software design and on-site calibration and testing, with the Zivid SDK playing a crucial role. While backward compatibility was noted as an area for improvement, overall integration was smooth and well-supported by Zivid’s technical team.

04 Results

This solution allows users to automate tasks like loading and unloading deburring machines with minimal setup, making automation economically viable even in complex and low-volume production environments. It delivers increased productivity (up to 90% in full automation scenarios), improves process reliability, and reduces physically demanding labor – all with no programming expertise required.

The solution is currently deployed at LISSMAC Maschinenbau GmbH, a machine manufacturer and system partner of Schmalz. Before adopting the Solution Kit, LISSMAC relied on manual labor for loading and unloading deburring machines – a process bottleneck that impacted efficiency and tied up valuable human resources.

Since implementing the Schmalz solution, LISSMAC reports:

• Significant relief of manual labor requirements
• Clear, intuitive operation suitable for unskilled operators
• Reliable and stable 24/7 performance
• A successful step toward future full automation

Performance metrics speak for themselves:

• Pick accuracy: >95% of all part types successfully handled
• Cycle rate: Up to 500 parts/hour
• Camera capture time: 1.3 seconds for reflective objects at full resolution

With the foundational automation now in place, LISSMAC looks forward to expanding to fully automated solution. Schmalz is already planning further development of the Solution Kit for new industries and is continuously enhancing the offering to support an even wider range of use cases globally.