FEATURE ON ROBOTS AND AUTOMATION

Robotic solution for complex aerospace parts

Q5D Technologies is delivering a £1.7m project in collaboration with the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) to accelerate automation within the aerospace industry by using a novel robotic solution to add embedded wiring into complex aircraft components.

Project LiveWire, led by Bristol-based Q5D, aims to automate the manufacture of airline seating components and control systems by embedding wiring into the structures that make up these parts, helping reduce costs and build lighter, higher-quality components.

Wiring in aircraft currently takes place by hand, making it an expensive and laborious process that is prone to errors and can cause failures and sometimes even fires. As part of the project, Q5D created a five-axis robotic tool that can add wiring to a complex shaped component in a new, improved way.

For its part, the AMRChad to devise a proof-of-concept solution to calculate the position and rotation of a workpiece that would enable the robot to automate the process of embedding wiring. In addition, the AMRC had to create integrated validation processes for quality inspection.

The benefits of automating the robot path using a vision system will provide Q5D’s robotic technology with greater flexibility to adapt to dynamic environments. Making automatic adjustments to the robotic path on the fly will also increase productivity as it will decrease the manual programming required.

Even though the project looked at a pathway for use in the aerospace sector, the concept is transferable to any robotics automation system.
For further information www.bit.ly/3QM6svA

Clearly visible light signals with Leuze TL 305

Leuze is introducing new tower lights for machine tools in a robust aluminium housing.Thecompany says that its TL 305 series impresses with bright and homogeneous illumination as well as an optional IO-Link interface.

Tower lights are indispensable in machine tools construction, making status, faults and ongoing processes clearly visible from a distance.The new Leuze tower lights of the TL 305 series can do all of this extremely reliably, reports Leuze,lighting up brightly, uniformly and fully. This capability enables optimum signalling, whether at the machine, on the conveyor belt or for access control. The compact towers are available preconfigured with three, four, or five segments.

Leuze’s new range of tower lights includes TL 305 models with a predefined colour assignment, as well as TL 305-IOL models with an IO-Link interface. The IO-Link variants allow different operating modes and provide an extensive selection of colours. On request, the tower lights are also available with an additional acoustic signaller.

System operators benefit from the immediate usability of the tower lights. The M30 thread and M12 connectors make them easy to install, while matching accessories simplify installation. A robust design characterises all models of the series, where the aluminium housing allows use of the tower lights even in demanding industrial environments.

The IO-Link version TL 305-IOL, with its different operating modes, offers maximum flexibility. It is possible to actuate segments such as colour, intensity and lighting sequences individually via IO-Link using ‘Segment’ mode. Users can also deploy ‘Level’ mode to visualise fill levels. If fast commissioning is required, users can actuate eight predetermined or user-defined configurations via the three external trigger inputs, even without an IO-Link connection.
For further information www.leuze.com

Omron releases cobot with 20 kg payload

Omron says that its new 20kg payload collaborative robot (cobot) levels the playing field betweenpalletising using a traditional industrial robot anda cobot. Despite the 20 kg payload and 1.3 m reach, the footprint remains small, making the new cobot ideal for tasks such as palletising.

Recognising the potential of the TM20 and the new opportunities it could bring, Reeco a specialist in the manufacture and delivery of a wide range of palletising solutions – and an official UK solutions partner of Omron – was quick to adopt the TM20 and expand its palletising offering. The new RB2000 palletiser is a 20kg payload, cost-effective, market-ready solution that is said to make end-of-line robotic automation attractive to producers of all sizes.

Cobot palletising is ideal for manufacturers with limited space, working in tight spaces to perform a wide range of tasks. Additionally, cobots are safe to work alongside human operators, reducing the risk of accidents and injuries.

Another benefit is that cobot palletisers are very cost-effective. Cobots are significantly less expensive than traditional industrial robots, making them accessible to smaller manufacturers. They are also easy to program, reducing the need for specialised programming skills.

A cobot palletiser that can lift 20kg can be programmed towork with different types of products, pallets and packaging, providing greater flexibility than a human operator and making it a versatile addition to any manufacturing facility.

Garry Lewis, market development manager of Omron, says:“A cobot palletiser that can lift 20kg can provide significant benefits to manufacturing facilities. It can increase efficiency, improve safety, provide cost savings, offer flexibility and enhance product quality. As automation continues to transform the manufacturing industry, cobots are poised to play an increasingly important role.”
For further information www.industrial.omron.co.uk

Stockholder cuts lead times with Kasto automation

A steel and non-ferrous metals stockholder in Germany, is using a new sawing centre from Kasto for the close-tolerance cutting to length of its various bar, tube, profile and other products. At Bieber + Marburg, the demand for sawing in particular is increasing enormously, so the company needed to examine how best to expand this side of its business and determine what technology to target.

During a demonstration, the impressive speed of an automatic production circular saw from the KASTOvariospeed range impressed the stockholder’s management and it quickly became apparent that it would be the optimum solution to the shortfall in cutting capacity.

Nextto the circular saw, a KASTOsort robot is responsible for cut piece container management. The robot recognises the containers, which already contain the relevant delivery label, and loads the required parts into them automatically, even unattended over the weekend.

Bieber + Marburg’s new KASTOcenter Varioplus 4 warehouse is 50 m long by 7 m wide and 9 m high. It contains about 1500 shelves with space for material up to 7 m long and 330 mm in diameter. A gantry crane stores and retrieves stock at up to 60 m/min. It serves both the KASTOvariospeed C 18 automatic circular sawing centre and a bandsawing area, where a newly installed KASTOtec SC4 is part of the expansion.

“The KASTOcenter varioplus 4 has enabled us to reduce set-up time from 15-20 minutes on the bandsaws, to less than two minutes on the circular saw,” reveals Marcel Finkernagel, director of administration and organisation at Bieber + Marburg.“Operation is then automatic, with consistent quality of cut on material up to the saw’s maximum capacity of 330 mm diameter.”
For further information www.kasto.com

Unused vision hardware should not go to waste

In many plants there are cameras, lighting and other hardware that once formed part of a visual inspection system that is no longer fit for purpose. Zohar Kantor, vice president of sales at visual inspection software company Lean AI, explains why equipment-agnostic software technology could breathe new life into existing machine vision hardware.

Estimates suggest that between 2017 and 2020, approximately 270,000 machine vision systems were installed around the world. How many of these are still performing as intended? A common issue is the lack of interoperability between different hardware components, or between hardware and software. Some software solutions are vendor-specific,requiring the purchase of new cameras and other sensors.

Quality managers and plant managers are unfortunately not fully aware that there is an alternative solution in retrofitting. If a software solution is equipment-agnostic, meaning it can operate with hardware from different vendors, it is possible to bring new capacity to old investments.

If the existing image acquisition equipment is perfectly acceptable in terms of image quality and illumination, then software was the problem. Why not leverage existing hardware by finding a software solution that will work in tandem? Lean AI is currently putting this theory into practice with a leading powder metal company in Canada. Lean AI’s artificial intelligence algorithms work with any hardware, so the company can make use of cameras and computer hardware already in the plant, removing the need for the customer to rip it out and start again. Retrofitting in this way saves time, money and risk.
For further information www.lean-ai-tech.com