Monode Marking Products was asked by the United States Air Force to come up with an accurate and repeatable way (with minimal human intervention) to mark large, expensive, aerospace components. They developed a robotic marking system that uses ATI Industrial Automation’s Robotic Tool Changers to automatically switch end-effectors. Mounted on the wrist of the robot arm, ATI Tool Changers enable the robot to quickly change end-of-arm tooling, allowing the robot to perform multiple functions. Monode’s robotic marking system uses a laser displacement sensor and machine vision end-effector to scan the face of the part. The robot exchanges end-effectors, via Tool Changer, to a Monode/Pryor dot peen marking head end-effector that marks the part. A Tool Changer is utilized in the last exchange to another sensor and vision end-effector to verify and grade the marking.

ATI offers a wide selection of Tool Changer models to cover a variety of applications. All ATI Tool Changers feature their patented fail-safe locking mechanism and No-Touch Locking^TM technology. Key features include: Excellent repeatability, high rigidity, and a lightweight and compact design. With over 20 years of robotic end-effector innovation, ATI’s engineering department, the largest of its kind for a robotic tooling company, is focused on developing cost-effective, state-of-the-art products and solutions.