Glossary

Workpiece handling

Picking up, turning, positioning and transferring workpieces in production – typically at machines, fixtures and assembly stations. It places higher demands on accuracy and orientation than pure material handling, because the workpiece has to be brought into a defined position.

Also: Part handling · Component handling · Werkstückhandhabung

Also known as

Part handling
Component handling
Werkstückhandhabung

Handling as defined in VDI 2860

The German guideline VDI 2860 describes handling as creating, deliberately changing or temporarily maintaining a specified spatial arrangement of geometrically defined bodies. It divides handling into five sub-functions: storing, changing quantities, moving, securing and checking.

The essence lies in the word “specified”. Workpiece handling is not transport. The workpiece is meant to arrive in a particular position and orientation – in the chuck, in the fixture, on the measuring table.

The task at the machine

A workpiece is picked from the container, rotated into the clamping orientation, guided into the work area, placed against the locating faces and held until the clamping device grips. After machining the same happens in reverse, often with a turn for the second set-up.

Each of these steps makes a different demand: picking needs a gripper that reaches the part in the container, rotating needs a tilting unit, loading needs a low-profile design, and locating needs sensitivity.

What the sizing looks at

Most questions arise from the work area of the machine and the clamping device.

Access: is the machine loaded from the front through the door or from above? From the front, an arm that reaches horizontally into the machine is needed – a rope from above cannot get under the machine roof.
Grip surfaces: the gripper must not occupy clamping or locating faces and must not damage machined surfaces.
Blank and finished part: they differ in geometry and weight; the gripper has to hold both.
Environment: coolant and swarf reduce the holding force of suction cups and jaws.
Holding until clamped: the device has to keep the part steady in position while the operator actuates the clamping device.

Manual, hand-guided, automatic

Light parts in small numbers are loaded by hand. As the weight rises, loading becomes a problem – not only because of the load but because the operator has to hold it into the work area with outstretched arms. Whether that is acceptable is settled by the risk assessment.

A hand-guided manipulator suits changing parts and small to medium batches. Automatic loading by robot or gantry suits large series with ordered part presentation. A common mistake is to plan the overhead crane as a loading aid: it brings the part to the front of the machine, but not into it.

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Overview

The sub-functions of handling in VDI 2860

Sub-function	Meaning	Example at the machine
Storing	keeping parts in stock	blanks in a container or on a pallet
Changing quantities	dividing, merging, separating	taking one part from the container
Moving	changing position and orientation	rotating, tilting, guiding into the work area
Securing	holding, clamping, releasing	gripping and holding until clamped
Checking	testing, measuring	checking position and contact before clamping

Frequently asked questions

Frequently asked questions about Workpiece handling

What distinguishes workpiece handling from material handling?

Accuracy. Material handling takes material from one place to another. Workpiece handling brings an individual part into a defined position – with requirements for orientation, grip surfaces and positioning.

Can a rope balancer load a machine tool?

Only on machines accessible from above. With an enclosed work area loaded through the door, a device with a rigid, horizontally reaching arm is needed that can hold the workpiece off-centre.

How are workpieces turned between two set-ups?

With a rotating or tilting unit on the gripper that turns the part while it hangs on the device, or via a rest on which the grip is changed. Which solution fits depends on the centre of gravity and the grip surfaces.

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