Observing all appropriate Covid-19 protocols, Sepro Group will bring a total of 11 robots to Fakuma 2021, which is scheduled for 12 – 16 October in Friedrichshafen, Germany. Seven of those robots will be displayed on Sepro’s own stand (Hall A1, booth 1203) and two of those will be shown on injection-molding machines operating in the booth. A further 4 units will be demonstrated on machines being displayed by IMM manufacturers in partnership with Sepro.

“Sepro is pleased that shows are back on track after last year’s cancelation of the 2020 Fakuma edition” said Charles de Forges, CEO of Sepro Group, “and we have a strong story to tell. Our exhibit will present 3-, 5- and 6-axis robots that are part of the most extensive portfolio in the industry, which also includes comprehensive range of peripheral equipment. Whatever project you may be working on, large or small, complex or simple pick-and-place, you will find that Sepro has a perfect solution for you.”

Sumitomo-Demag, Sepro’s longest standing OEM partner, is providing one of the two molding machines that will be in operation during the show. The 130-ton press will be molding an automobile gearstick baseplate that will be removed from the mold by an SDR 11 robot, the Sumitomo-Demag equivalent of the Sepro Success 11.

Elsewhere on the stand, a Haitian Zeres 60-ton electric IMM will be equipped with Sepro’s smallest Success robot, the Success 5, which will be producing a ‘cleankY’ hygienic door opening tool.

Other robots being demonstrated in the Sepro booth include:

• S5-25 MED, a 5-axis robot recently introduced for medical applications. It will be manipulating a medical component from the Swiss molder Fischer Soehne AG.
• Nearby, a Success 22X, the redesigned 5-axis version of Sepro’s best-selling robot range, will be handling a BMW Series 2 automobile grill.
• A smaller, 3-axis Success 11 will be working with VW hubcap logos.
• An S5 picker, a 3-axis servo-driven sprue picker will be simulating sprue picking operations.
• A 6X-140, a small 6-axis articulated arm robot made in collaboration with Yaskawa Motoman, will be holding a car bumper

Elsewhere on the show, the injection-molding machine manufacturers demonstrating Sepro robots are:

• DECKERFORM Technologies GmbH TOYO, Booth A6-6413
• Ferromatik Milacron GmbH, Milacron LLC, Booth B3-3292
• FANUC Deutschland GmbH, Booth B3-3211
• BILLION SAS, Booth B3-3104

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• Sepro at Fakuma 7October 2021 – EN
• Sepro at Fakuma 7October 2021 – DE

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• Sepro Group – Success 22x
• Sepro Group – S5-35 MED

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After a highly successful first half in in the United Kingdom, Sepro Group (La Roche sur Yon, France) is bringing a total of seven of its newest and most advanced robots for plastics-injection molding applications to Interplas 2021, being held September 28-30 at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, UK.

“The UK market is buoyant at the moment,” says Glen Eves, General Manager, Sepro UK. “So far, our sales numbers are above target, with gains over the first half of 2020, especially in medical, household goods, automotive and among trade moulders. We have sold a number of larger automation systems too, and that has added strength to our turnover for the year.”

He’s optimistic about the Interplas show, too, after its cancellation in 2020 due to the Covid 19 pandemic. “We are hoping that, with the number and diversity of units on display, we will gain an audience from plastic moulders that would not normally see us. We hope to break into new accounts, strengthen existing accounts, and look forward to a final quarter of the year that benefits from the usual “Interplas Effect,” which historically has led to a good increase in enquiries and orders immediately post-show and on into the following year.”

Eves notes that “the majority of the best-selling robots in the UK market can be seen on our stand [D20 in Hall 4] and operating on the machines of our IMM-manufacturer partners.”

These include a Success 11X, Sepro’s recently introduced five-axis version of its redesigned Success Line. It can be seen operating on a Haitian molding machine on Stand E4 in Hall 4. In addition to offering 5 axes of motion instead of the standard 3 axes, the latest Success robots have an extended standard demolding stroke and, for the first time, a long-demolding (LD) configuration is available that can add 200mm to the stroke. In certain applications, this can allow a robot of a given size to serve a higher-tonnage molding machine than previously possible.

Nearby, on its own stand (D20 in Hall 4), Sepro is featuring a three-axis Success 22 – sized for IMMs from 150 to 400 tons — as well as a 6X-70L. Aimed at IMMs from 20 – 200 tons, this is the smallest in a line of six-axis articulated-arm robots developed jointly with Yaskawa Motoman. The ‘L’ designation indicates it is equipped with an extended-reach arm.

The Success 22 is equipped with end-of-arm tooling (EOAT) that displays a wide variety of gripper components, and the 6X-70L is manipulating Audi hubcap-logo medallions.

Elsewhere in Hall 4, Bole Machinery (Stand G70) is operating a Sepro five-axis Cartesian 5X-35 robot with telescoping arm, as well as a Success 22. Billion (Hall 4, Stand C4) has a three-axis S5-25 installed on one of its molding machines. And Tederic (Hall 4 Stand C78) is demonstrating a 3-axis Success 11.

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• Sepro at Interplas 14September 2021

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• Sepro Group – Success 11x

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In April, Sepro UK, a daughter company of French robot maker Sepro Group, celebrates its 30th anniversary with the opening of an expanded sales and service center in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire.

Since its founding in 1991 as one of the first wholly-owned subsidiaries of Sepro Group, La Roche-sur-Yon, France, Sepro UK has grown with its plastics-industry customers into an important supplier of 3- and 5-axis Cartesian beam robots, and 6-axis articulated-arm robots, as well as automation systems. Its customers include injection molders that serve medical, housewares, construction materials and other markets throughout the United Kingdom.

According to General Manager Glen Eves, the new, 232 m² sales and service center in Lodge Farm Business Centre, Castlethorpe, Milton Keynes, unites robot sales, service, parts, and robot-commissioning activities under one roof. The new facility also houses a Sepro robot training center, complete with working Cartesian and 6-axis robots, where customer technicians can receive hands-on instruction in robotic programming and control.

“Despite the difficult business challenges posed by Brexit and the current pandemic, our team of experts remain 100% dedicated to helping our injection molding customers to use robotics and automation to be more productive and successful,” said Eves, who has led Sepro UK since December 2013. He added that as Sepro UK sales have grown fourfold over the past decade, the organization has continued to focus on customers, investing in strengthening its service team and capabilities. Today, the Sepro UK staff numbers nine overall, including a technical service supervisor and three service engineers.

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• Sepro UK Expanded Sales and Service Center 5 April 2021

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• Sepro Group – Training Center
• Sepro Group – UK Facility 

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In yet another step towards growing its business in Asia, Sepro Group, La Roche sur Yon, France, is opening a sales operation in Singapore, to be managed by Jimmy Teo, a long-time plastics industry veteran and experienced business manager who joined the company at the beginning of February. Teo is responsible for expanding sales not only in Singapore, but also Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand as well as South Korea and Japan.

By opening a direct sales office in the region, Sepro signals its ambition to expand its presence and market share in South-East Asia. Sepro’s other Asian enterprises include Sepro China, located in Shanghai, which opened in 2011. It has and will continue to serve customers In the Greater China Market. Sepro also has a technical service center in Shanghai, China, and another in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In India, Sepro robots are sold and serviced by Labotek Plastics Auxiliaries India Pvt. The Company is also actively seeking distributors or agents in other Asian countries.

As one of the leading global suppliers of robots, Sepro equips all injection-molding-machine brands from 50 to 5000 tons, whether new or already installed. Sepro’s complete solution includes robots with 3, 5 or 6 axes of motion and all are controlled by the same Visual platform.

JIMMY TEO

The new Sepro Managing Director at Sepro Singapore has a diploma in mechanical engineering, accounting and finance and completed a Master of Business Administration degree at Cardiff Metropolitan University. He held senior management and business development positions with several companies, including almost 20 years with Wittmann Battenfeld where he ultimately managed businesses in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. He has successfully managed start-ups in those countries as well as Thailand.

“Jimmy Teo, has vast experience in the plastic industry,” noted Xavier Lucas, Chief Sales Officer for Sepro Group, ”taking on top level responsibility for new ventures, company management and business development. He is an excellent team player and we believe he is the ideal person to help Sepro expand in Southeast Asia and elsewhere.”

Of further interest is the fact that, immediately prior to joining Sepro Group, Teo assisted in Singapore’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, holding overall responsibility for the day-to-day operations of a temporary dormitory and managed swab operations island-wide.

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• Sepro in Asia 1 March 2021

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• Sepro Group – Jimmy Teo

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Having demonstrated a prototype of a new, general-purpose 5-axis robot (the Success 22X) at the K 2019 trade fair, Sepro Group has now finished the redesign of the entire range, which can serve injection-molding machines from 20 to 700 tons. Three of the units can be optionally equipped with a 2-axis servo wrist co-developed with Yaskawa Motoman, to create a 5-axis Cartesian design that brings both flexibility and economy to the market.

Originally introduced in 2011, the Success Range has become Sepro’s best-selling robot family. For the first time, the speed and precision of 3-axis servo operation became available to molders with simple pick-and-place applications and simple downstream operations. Success units were the first truly affordable robots to offer enhanced capabilities, with all of the quality and reliability for which Sepro is well-known.

In addition to aesthetic changes, including sleek, streamlined styling, the latest Success robots have an extended standard demolding stroke and, for the first time, a long-demolding (LD) configuration is available that adds 200mm to the stroke. In certain applications, this can allow a robot of a given size to serve a higher-tonnage molding machine than previously possible.

In some models, the maximum horizontal stroke has been lengthened, and a telescoping vertical arm is also available to extend that movement by as much as 200mm.

Sepro engineers also have returned to the use of cam follower bearings for linear motions of the new Success robots. Developed and patented by Sepro some years ago to handle the heavy payloads and long strokes on the large robots, they are now standard on all Cartesian robots. This recognized technology provides more even weight distribution and smoother operation compared to linear bearings and also is more tolerant of dust and other contaminants.

Success Line X

As noted above, the three largest robots in the Success Range (covering IMMs from 80 to 700 tons) are available in a 5-axis-servo ‘X’ configuration that adds speed, flexibility and user-friendliness compared to 3-axis robots with pneumatic wrists.

The full-servo wrist on Success Line X robots is a feature previously found only on more technological robots, including the Sepro 5X Line of small and mid-size robots, and 7X Line of large robots, both of which feature a 2-axis servo wrist developed in partnership with Stäubli Robotics.

“Among other advantages,” explains Claude Bernard, Product Marketing Director, “the all-servo wrist can be easily adapted with simple digital commands, guaranteeing greater flexibility and faster production changeovers — approaching Single-Minute Exchange of Die (SMED) methodology. We believe this represents the future of Cartesian robots.”

Unlike pneumatic wrists, servo motors have positional sensors that allow the robot to know exactly where the wrist – and gripper mounted to it — are positioned at all times. In fact, the robot can move in all 5 axes at any time with complete control. This allows the robot to complete complicated motions. Thus, it becomes easier to extract a large, complex part with minimal clearance between mold halve or tie bars, or to position parts for secondary operations. At the same time, it becomes possible to use simpler end-of-arm tooling (EOAT), since the servo wrist more easily compensates for minor misalignments.

Many of these complex part-manipulation tasks have historically been assigned to 6-axis articulated-arm robots. However, because they are a Cartesian or linear robots, the 5-axis Success X robots offer faster intervention into the mold space for shorter cycle times, while delivering the flexibility inside and outside the mold otherwise associated with an articulated unit. Set-up and operation are highly intuitive and programming was designed to fit the unique needs of injection molding.

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• Sepro Completes Redesign of its Success Range ENG
• Sepro Completes Redesign of its Success Range FR
• Sepro Completes Redesign of its Success Range DE
• Sepro Completes Redesign of its Success Range ESP
• Sepro Completes Redesign of its Success Range POR
• Sepro Completes Redesign of its Success Range CN

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• Sepro Group – Success 22X 

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