Forging machine with robotic handler

1. An apparatus comprising:

a progressive forming machine having a station with a cutoff cassette for cutting blanks from a supply of wire stock or bar stock;

a plurality of workstations with tooling cassettes for forming the blanks; and

a shelf robot for automatically changing the cutoff cassette and tooling cassettes, the robot having,

a base that is fixed from linear movement; and

a robot arm that is movable in six axes with respect to the base, the

robot arm having a flange distal from an end of said robot arm that is supported from below by the base, and a coupling device that is disposed on the flange, wherein

the cutoff cassette and tooling cassettes each have a respective coupling element that is formed as a bulbous pin, each bulbous pin being engageable by the coupling device to enable the corresponding cutoff cassette or tooling cassette to be transported to and from the progressive forming machine by the robot.

2. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the respective coupling elements of the cutoff cassette and the tooling cassettes are identical.

3. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the cutoff cassette and the tooling cassettes each include a respective formation adjacent the bulbous pin thereof to angularly orient a selected cassette relative to the coupling device.

4. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the progressive forming machine includes a transfer slide and a transfer camshaft, each of which is mountable on the distal flange via a transport apparatus for transport to and from the progressive forming machine.

5. The apparatus as set forth in claim 4 , wherein said transport apparatus includes a first fixture for carrying the transfer slide and a second fixture for carrying the transfer camshaft, said first and second fixtures having respective tool plates that are compatible with a master plate mounted on the robot arm flange.

6. The apparatus as set forth in claim 5 , wherein each of said first and second fixtures have respective actuators operated by the robot that function to inter-engage elements with respective parts of the transfer slide and the transfer camshaft.

7. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1 , further including a displaceable work platform moveable between a die area of the progressive forming machine and a storage area, which is adjacent the progressive forming machine, the work platform having a coupling element engageable by the coupling device to enable the work platform to be transported between the die area and the storage area by the robot.

8. The apparatus as set forth in claim 7 , wherein the work platform coupling element is identical to the respective coupling elements of the cutoff cassette and the tooling cassettes.

9. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the base of said robot is mounted vertically above and horizontally offset from the progressive forming machine out of a die area thereof.

10. The apparatus as set forth in claim 9 , wherein the base is mounted laterally away from an operator station.

11. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1 , including a loading area that is disposed adjacent the progressive forming machine for supplying and receiving cutoff and tooling cassettes, transfer slides, and transfer camshafts to and from the robot.

12. The apparatus as set forth in claim 11 , wherein the loading area has dedicated zones for simultaneously storing two transfer slides, two transfer camshafts, two cutoff cassettes, and more tooling cassettes than the progressive forming machine has workstations.

13. The apparatus as set forth in claim 12 , wherein each of the tooling cassettes comprises an associated tool cassette and a die cassette, and the loading area dedicated zone for tooling cassettes has only one space more for each tool cassette and each die cassette than the number of workstations of the progressive forming machine.

14. The apparatus as set forth in claim 12 , wherein the loading area includes a support for both a tooling cassette pallet and a transfer slide and transfer camshaft pallet.

15. The apparatus as set forth in claim 14 , wherein the support is a bi-level arrangement wherein the tooling cassette pallet is lower and more proximal to the progressive forming machine than the transfer slide and cam shaft pallet.