[Introduction] In a copper smelting base, a set of silver robotic arms are stripping copper
cathode plates with millimeter-level precision, and the whole unattended operation scene
has subverted the traditional production mode.
Breaking the traditional process: the century-old problem
of flaking process
As a strategic material in the era of electrification, copper cathode's manual flaking process has long
been a constraint to the industry's upgrading. Workers need to be in the 60 ℃ high temperature
environment, holding 20 kg of copper to complete the peeling, sorting, stacking and other repetitive
actions, not only there is a risk of burns, but also lead to fluctuations in the product qualification
rate. A smelting enterprise data show that the edge damage caused by manual operation so that
each ton of finished product loss increased by 0.3%, according to the annual output of 300,000
tons, equivalent to an annual loss of 900 tons of high-purity copper.
The environmental cost of the traditional process is also alarming: electrolysis workshop annual
average discharge of copper-containing wastewater 15,000 cubic meters, flaking process produces
copper dust PM2.5 concentration exceeds the national standard 3 times. These pain points forced
the industry to find both quality and efficiency, but also to realize the path of technological
innovation of clean production.
Technological revolution: analysis of the whole process of
intelligent flaking system
The new generation of robot flaking system consists of three core modules. The vision positioning
module adopts multi-spectral imaging technology, completing the three-dimensional modeling of the
copper plate within 0.05 seconds, with a positioning accuracy of ±0.1mm; the flexible actuator is equipped
with a pressure feedback device, which automatically adjusts the clamping force according to the thickness
of the copper plate; and the intelligent sorting system identifies the surface defects through AI algorithms,
with the classification accuracy rate increased to 99.7%.
A demonstration base operation data show:
The daily handling capacity of a single machine exceeds 300 tons, which is 5 times higher than that of manual work.
Copper plate yield rate jumped from 97.1% to 99.5%.
The energy consumption of the equipment is reduced by 42% compared with the traditional production line.
Workshop dust concentration dropped to 1.2mg/m³.
This system really realizes the mode of “black light factory”, in the night production time of a copper enterprise
in Zhejiang, the whole set of equipment only needs 2 inspectors to maintain operation.
Double Value Creation of Green Intelligent Manufacturing
Optimization of energy consumption structure
Intelligent stripping system through the energy recovery device, the kinetic energy of the robotic arm braking
is converted into electrical energy back to the grid. Measurement of a project in Yunnan shows that 18kW-h of
electricity can be recovered for every 100 tons of copper cathode processed, and the annual power saving is
equivalent to reducing 62 tons of CO₂ emissions.
Closed Loop Resource Recycling
The copper chip collection system adopts negative pressure adsorption technology, which, together with the
smelting reuse device, raises the metal recovery rate to 99.9%. After the introduction of this technology to a
smelter in Inner Mongolia, the annual copper raw material procurement cost was reduced by 27 million yuan.
Environmentally friendly upgrading
The fully sealed operation mode completely isolates the escape of acid mist, and the supporting electrolyte
recycling system reduces wastewater discharge by 83%. After third-party testing, the copper ion content of the
soil around the workshop was reduced from 1.5mg/kg to 0.3mg/kg.
Industry chain synergistic innovation effect
This technology is triggering the “butterfly effect” of industrial change:
Upstream equipment vendors developed a corrosion-resistant special alloy fixtures, life extension to 12,000 hours
Logistics companies launched a customized AGV transfer program, the utilization rate of storage capacity
increased by 40%.
Inspection organization establishes copper digital twin database, increasing quality traceability efficiency by 7 times
[Conclusion] When the trajectory of the robotic arm crosses the electrolytic tank, what we see is not only the
innovation of the production method, but also the reconstruction of the whole industrial ecology. Robot flaking
technology is promoting the manufacturing of copper cathode to the three-dimensional coordinates of “smarter,
cleaner and more efficient”, providing a Chinese solution for the sustainable development of the global non-ferrous
metal industry. With the in-depth application of 5G+Industrial Internet, this intelligent manufacturing paradigm
will be extended to the whole copper processing industry chain, opening a new chapter of green metallurgy.