automation, robotics & assembly
Easier to respond to increased demand
Certainty about the total time required for a production
run makes it possible to schedule equipment more
accurately, which in turn makes it more likely that the
plant can get the most value from equipment. Also, a plant
that depends on operators to load its machines has to add
both machines and people in order to increase its volume.
However, a plant that uses at least some automation can add
machines without necessarily adding people, making it
that much easier to quickly respond to increased demand.
For example, a Mazak e-Bot Cell comprising an
IntegrexHSII turning centre and FanucM900iA robot
loader, has helped double capacity of large turned cast
components at Mazak’s UK facility for over a year. Three
machines manned by two operators over two
8 hour shifts have now been replaced by two
machines, one e-Bot and one manually
loaded machine, with one operator over two
shifts. The result is two fewer operators and,
with the e-Bot operating to a target 720
hours (24 hours x 30 days) unmanned
operation, doubling of capacity in the area.
In addition to the clear benefits of full
machine utilisation, the e-Bot speeded up
load and unload times significantly while
helping to reduce the manual handling of
heavy loads. Castings weighing up to 140Kgs
are handled smoothly and accurately by the
Fanuc robot which has the capacity to
handle up to 350Kgs.
‘We worked closely with the engineering
Team at Fanuc Robotics UK to make sure all
components selected for the cell could be
handled by the robot. To remove the need for
orientation of components on the stillages,
wherever possible, castings were modified to
remove any flats, these were then machined
as part of the operation’ says Dave Simkin,
Mazak’s Machining Manager. Certain
components with cast slots couldn’t be
modified so a Fanuc 2D vision system was
incorporated into the robot tooling. A
structured light source over the pick-up
point ensures that the vision system isn’t
affected by variations in ambient light.
More complex components, for example
shafts where deep holes are bored, are machined on the
manned turning centre. This is chiefly because they have
the potential for swarf clearance issues. As there has to be
an operator in the area anyway there is no plan or need to
automate this second machine. The successfully
implemented e-Bot Cell is now producing 300 parts a
month and serves as a demonstrator as well as an important
part of production at Mazak.
In the case of shorter-run and engineered-to-order
(ETO) production environments, however, keeping
modern shop floor automation at near or full capacity is a
big challenge. The pace of information coming out of the
product engineering and manufacturing engineering
departments needs to be fast enough to drive the shop floor
automation. For automation to work successfully in such
an environment good information sharing and enterprise
resource planning systems (ERP) must be in place. Having
to translate and manually retype information in each
department is generally the biggest bottleneck in the
Kuka’s white knuckle
experience at MACH
46 MWP july 2008
engineering and manufacturing work flow process.
Addressing the fabrication sectors, KUKA Automation
+ Robotics used MACH08 to launch a pair of small
payload, lightweight robots that are designed to perform a
wide variety of arc welding tasks. The compact KR5 Arc
robot features high continuous path accuracy, and also
offers a working envelope of greater than 1.4m. Its modular
design means it can be easily integrated into almost any cell
concept and can be mounted either on the floor or inverted
from a ceiling. With a payload of 5kg and a supplementary
load capability of 12kg, the new robot is suitable for a range
of welding and handling applications.
KUKA also launched the KR5 HW, a more specialist
(hollow wrist), arc welding robot, designed to undertake
complex welding tasks in harsh working
conditions. This could be seen in action on the
Wilkinson Star stand where it was
demonstrating Wilkinson Star’s new Cebora
range of robotic welding equipment. The new
variant offers improved component
accessibility and incorporates a fluid supply
system which is integrated in the robot arm.
‘This setup allows infinite rotation of axis six
without the need to re-orientate the robot
wrist during the work cycle’ says Paul
Richards, general sales manager, KUKA
Automation + Robotics. For the customer, this
means improved component accessibility and
simplified offline programming.
KUKA’s star attraction - certainly for
students at the show - was its ‘Robocoaster’,
the world’s first passenger-carrying robot,
which, evidently rivalled anything on a
theme park ‘white knuckle’ list. It carried two
passengers at a time and offered a choice of
five ride profiles/speeds, some of which could
pull up to 2Gs. The versatile robot arm is able
to provide full turn, tilt and twist motions in
any combination, explains Paul Richards.
ABB demonstrated the finesse of its robots
with an interesting setup showing how its
‘RobotWare Machinery Force Control (FC)
software’ could quickly and accurately adapt
to varying surfaces and consistency of
materials when grinding and finishing
castings. ‘FC Pressure’, enables the IRB140
robot to grind, polish and buff castings while maintaining
a constant pressure between the tool and the work surface,
while ‘FC Speed Change’, enables a robot to debur or
deflash part line surfaces at a controlled speed. For example,
when an excessive burr is encountered, the robot slowed
down thus avoiding potential damage to the equipment
and products.
Most robot systems you would have encountered at
MACH were in place doing routine operations as part of a
larger installation. Such is life; robots are now so
commonplace in manufacturing environments you are
more likely to notice that they were missing than notice
that they are there. Take the automotive industry for
example; the robots in the Citroen Picasso ad were central
to it, and everybody is familiar with this application.
www.aarobotics.co.uk
www.fruk.co.uk
www.kuka.com
www.abb.co.uk
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