At K Show 2025, Sepro showcased how the communication between injection moulders and control technology is paramount through a complete automation cell.
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Integrating complete automation solutions is Sepro’s motto, and if you’ve visited its booth at K Show, you know what we’re talking about.
The team welcomed visitors to an entire production cell that creates model sailing boats – black or blue, it’s up to you! Operations include everything from part removal, sorting and asyril feeder to bin-picking, 3D vision and assembly, made possible by the integration of multiple robots. These are a Sepro Success 22 X beam robot, a 6-axis Stäubli robot, a Yaskawa Scara robot and a linear-axis.
The cell benefits from Sepro’s new Visual 4 control technology, which is combined with a PLC to create an automation HMI. This provides simplified navigation, a colour-coded overview of the system, along with streamlined programming and control. It also offers real-time production performance insights, including cycle times, efficiency rates, availability metrics and maintenance data. Operators can access manual pages, inputs/outputs (I/O) views and remote robot control via VNC, with each piece of equipment being individually monitored for easy maintenance.
Sepro’s Visual 4 control technology enables better communication between injection moulders and the control platform, boosting productivity and performance. The software and hardware are developed in-house and are compatible with existing Sepro systems and programming, meaning only a short training is required to get up to speed. Available on all Sepro robots from 2026, it’ll have three variations depending on individual needs:
- Visual 4: The basic configuration to suit simple pick-and-place applications, providing control of up to five axes and 24 I/Os
- Visual 4 Plus: It allows greater connectivity to peripheral equipment and boasts more I/Os
- Visual 4 Pro: Aimed at application-specific moulding cells involving multiple robots, peripheral equipment and robots with special configurations
The Visual 4 HMI enjoys a 25% lighter pendant than its predecessor, due to the CPU board being out of the pendant and into the main robot-control cabinet. The digital screen on the pendant has an aspect ratio of 10:16, making for a sleek, decluttered design, and the display is a capacitive touchscreen for multi-touch gestures. The pendant features 22 haptic shortcut buttons for basic commands, allowing for more intuitive robot movement through multiple axes.
The Visual 4 also uses a powerful Intel x86 processor to control up to ten moving axes, ideal for complex moulding cells. These can involve one or more injection moulding machines, multiple robots in different configurations and post-injection peripherals, whether new or existing and regardless of brands. It can store up to 1,000 mould programmes for easy recall.
Security is also paramount. Sepro’s new control technology includes user-profile settings, with authentication profiles used to determine which user can access specific features or applications. It’s also fully compliant with current EUROMAP standards and future-ready for upcoming ones.