An automated handling system for soft compact shaped non-rigid products

This paper describes a handling system developed specifically for use with compact shaped non-rigid materials that display different degrees of visco-elastic and plastic deformation behaviour. The system is capable of inferring material properties and can predict the effect of different handling strategies on the workpiece, allowing the most relevant to be selected. The design and implementation of the major components required is presented together with a description of the final integration and performance of the complete system.