As the global manufacturing industry undergoes a major upgrade, the sanitary ware sector is facing a critical transition period from labor-intensive to technology-intensive production. Challenges such as recruitment difficulties, a shortage of skilled labor, and difficulties in controlling product consistency are forcing enterprises to accelerate their automation layout.
As a professional service provider deeply rooted in ceramic production equipment, Senlante Sanitary Ware possesses a profound understanding of the pain points in every processing step. We provide more than just standalone equipment; we are dedicated to building efficient, intelligent, and flexible modern factories for our clients through the deep integration of Industrial Robots and Intelligent Transport Systems (AGV/AMR).
Below is an in-depth analysis of the key automation application paths implemented by Senlante Sanitary Ware throughout the entire production process.
I. Molding Section: Heavy Payload Handling & Flexible De-molding
Molding is the source of ceramic production. While the High Pressure Casting (HPC) process is highly efficient, the freshly de-molded greenware has high water content, significant weight, and extremely low strength. Traditional manual handling is not only physically demanding but also prone to causing deformation or internal cracks in the green body.
| * Senlante Solution: Heavy Payload 6-Axis Robot + Flexible Gripper System | ||
* Technical Highlights: * High Protection Class (IP67): Designed for the high-temperature, high-humidity, and slip-splashing environment of the molding workshop, we select robots with foundry-grade protection to ensure corrosion resistance and equipment longevity. * Soft Float / Compliance Function: The robot can fine-tune its movements to follow the opening and closing actions of the mold during extraction, avoiding rigid pulling that could crack the clay body. * Collaborative Operation: The robot interlocks directly with the HPC machine signals to achieve fully automatic de-molding, bonding, and transfer. |  |
II. In-Plant Intelligent Logistics: The Flexible "Porters"
The material flow system connects the molding, drying, fettling, and glazing workshops. Traditional manual carts create vibrations that are "invisible killers" causing internal damage to the greenware, while traditional chain conveyors lack flexibility.
| * Senlante Solution: Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) / Autonomous Mobile Robot (AMR) | ||
 | * Technical Highlights: * Vibration Damping Design: Senlante has customized a suspension damping system specifically for fragile greenware, ensuring silky-smooth starting, turning, and stopping to eliminate transportation cracks. * SLAM Navigation: No magnetic strips or tracks are required. Lidar is used to automatically construct maps, adapting flexibly to factory layout adjustments. * Intelligent Fleet Management System: Capable of coordinating dozens of vehicles, automatically planning optimal paths to avoid congestion, and achieving "Just-in-Time" delivery of greenware from drying rooms to glazing lines. | |
III. Fettling Section: Force-Controlled Finishing & Occupational Health
Fettling (finishing) is the process with the most severe dust pollution, posing a threat to workers' respiratory health. Furthermore, manual fettling quality relies heavily on the "feel" and experience of the worker, making standardization difficult.
| * Senlante Solution: High-Precision 6-Axis Robot + Force Torque Sensor | ||
* Technical Highlights: * Constant Force Control Technology: This is the core of automated fettling. Through the end-effector force sensor, the robot can "feel" the contact force like an experienced craftsman, ensuring flexible polishing of the brittle green body. This removes seam lines effectively without damaging the surface. * Automatic Tool Changer: A single robot can automatically switch between scrapers, sponge heads, and drill bits to complete compound processes such as cutting, drilling, and wiping. |  |
IV. Glazing Section: The Core Process Defining Appearance
Glazing is key to determining the final Surface Quality of sanitary ware. Traditional manual spraying suffers from issues like uneven glaze thickness, drips, and missed spots, and it is difficult to maintain long-term consistency.
| * Senlante Solution: Specialized Explosion-Proof Painting Robot | ||
 | * Technical Highlights: * Hollow Wrist Design: Glaze lines and air hoses pass directly through the interior of the robot arm, preventing lines from touching the wet glaze surface during complex spraying trajectories. * Lead-through Teaching: Supports skilled craftsmen in physically guiding the robot arm for teaching. The robot precisely records and reproduces master-level techniques, significantly lowering the barrier to programming. * Offline Programming: Optimal spraying trajectories are generated via software simulation, which not only strictly controls glaze thickness but also significantly saves on glaze material costs. |
V. Firing & Packaging: Precision Positioning & Efficient Flow
Loading and unloading the tunnel kiln is high-intensity manual labor. As production volume increases, relying on manual labor to load/unload Kiln Cars has become a capacity bottleneck.
| * Senlante Solution: Long Reach Robot + 3D Vision System | ||
* Technical Highlights: * Kiln Loading: Utilizing a long-reach robot (reach exceeding 3 meters) combined with Senlante's specialized air-bladder grippers, glazed semi-finished products are gently placed onto refractory slabs, maximizing kiln space utilization. * Kiln Unloading: Addressing the position shifts caused by product shrinkage during firing, a 3D Vision System is introduced to automatically identify gripping points and rapidly unload high-temperature finished products. * Palletizing: At the end of the packaging line, high-speed 4-axis robots are used for boxing and palletizing, flexibly switching stacking patterns according to orders, achieving an unmanned logistics stage. |  |
Summary: The Core Value of Senlante Sanitary Ware
Choosing Senlante Sanitary Ware's full-process intelligent solution is not just a simple "machine replacement," but a reshaping of corporate competitiveness:
* Consistency: Eliminates human interference, ensuring highly unified standards for glaze surface and dimensions for every product.
* Yield Rate Improvement: Significantly reduces internal cracks and impact damage through stable AGV transport and precise robotic gripping.
* Labor Independence: Thoroughly solves the difficulty of recruiting for skilled trades and filling heavy manual labor positions.
* Flexible Production: Intelligent logistics systems make production line adjustments more flexible, adapting to the needs of multi-variety, small-batch production.
Senlante Sanitary Ware is committed to providing turnkey projects for global sanitary ware enterprises, from plant planning to equipment implementation. We provide solutions that are not just equipment, but "Smart Factory" strategies deeply rooted in ceramic craftsmanship, helping you seize the initiative in the Industry 4.0 era.