Robotic assistance pushes up productivity - PES Media

The concern successful 3 Halter LoadAssistant robotic systems by German subcontractor Euler Feinmechanik to enactment its DMG Mori lathes has boosted productivity, lowered costs and enhanced competitiveness. PES reports.

German subcontractor Euler Feinmechanik, based successful Schöffengrund, northbound of Frankfurt, has invested successful 3 robotic instrumentality tending systems from Dutch automation specializer Halter to automate loading and unloading connected a scope of DMG Mori lathes. The Halter bid of LoadAssistant robotic instrumentality tending instrumentality is disposable successful the UK done Salisbury-based 1st Machine Tool Accessories.

Established much than 60 years agone and with astir 75 employees, Euler Feinmechanik machines analyzable turned and milled parts specified arsenic optical bearing mounts, components for camera lenses, firearm scopes for hunting and the military, aesculapian and aerospace parts, and housings and stators for vacuum pumps. Materials machined are chiefly aluminium, brass, stainless alloy and assorted plastics including PEEK, acetal and PTFE.

Managing manager Leonard Euler comments: “Our accumulation processes see milling, but are centred chiefly connected CNC turning of prototypes, pre-production batches and bid parts.

“We make product-specific manufacturing strategies for our customers, for illustration Airbus, Leica and Zeiss, and enactment them from the improvement and accumulation stages done to aboveground finishing and assembly. Automation and robotisation are important aspects of our continuous improvement. We are perpetually reasoning astir whether we tin optimise idiosyncratic processes truthful that they interface adjacent much smoothly.”

Turn-mill automation

In 2016, Euler Feinmechanik bought a caller CTX beta 800 4A CNC turn-mill centre from DMG Mori for the accumulation of peculiarly analyzable components for vacuum equipment. The institution knew astatine the clip that it wanted to automate the machine, but archetypal had to found a reliable process to nutrient the workpieces to the required precocious quality.

That was the work of Marco Kühnl, elder technician and the turning department’s squad leader.

He says: “In presumption of the expanding bid quantities for the components, we purchased our archetypal loading robot successful 2017. It has allowed america to summation productivity from the caller DMG Mori lathe portion getting labour costs nether control.”

Several brands of instrumentality tending instrumentality were considered, arsenic Mr Euler was keen to find the champion solution and marque a future-proof prime connected which the subcontractor could standardise.

He explains: “DMG Mori itself was besides successful the running, arsenic it had conscionable introduced its ain Robo2Go robot. This seemed to america to beryllium the astir logical operation and it is so a bully product, but it tin lone beryllium programmed erstwhile the lathe is not running.

“However, Halter is simply a specializer successful this tract and not lone had a bully automation solution, but besides large references and a moving objection that showed precisely what we wanted. In the end, we opted for 1 of its Universal Premium 20 cells.”

Machining country of a CTX beta 800 4A, showing the FANUC robot of the LoadAssistant deploying a treble gripper for loading and unloading components

Simultaneous programming

There were assorted reasons for the decision, 1 of which was the usage of high-quality components successful the construction, specified arsenic a FANUC robot, Schunk grippers and a laser information strategy from Sick. Additionally, the robot compartment is manufactured successful Halter's mill successful Germany, wherever the bundle is besides developed.

As the shaper uses its ain operating system, programming the compartment portion the robot is moving is straightforward. In addition, portion the robot is loading the instrumentality astatine the beforehand of the cell, an relation is capable to insert earthy worldly into the strategy from the rear and region machined parts. Being capable to bash each this simultaneously avoids having to halt the turning centre and suffer production.

Moreover, the mobile Universal Premium 20 tin beryllium moved rapidly from 1 instrumentality instrumentality to work another, providing a precocious grade of accumulation versatility connected the shopfloor.

The compartment is designed for automatic loading of billets and unloading of machined workpieces to a maximum diameter of 270mm. A lawsuit tin take from a ample enactment of grid plates of antithetic capacities for buffer storage, which accommodate rectangular arsenic good arsenic circular workpieces and gangly parts.

To facilitate transportation of the loading robot to the CTX beta 800 4A, Halter equipped the instrumentality with an automation interface. This work is simply a large vantage compared that provided by competitors. Halter is capable to interface with immoderate marque of CNC machine, careless of its benignant and twelvemonth of manufacture.

The DMG Mori lathe is chiefly utilized for machining components from 130mm to 150mm diameter. Owing to its twin-spindle configuration, 2 workpieces tin beryllium produced successful parallel. After automating the instrumentality with the Halter cell, productivity accrued by astir 25%.

Increased automation

A twelvemonth aft purchasing the archetypal DMG Mori turning centre and retrofitting it with automated loading and unloading, Euler Feinmechanik bought 2 much lathes from the aforesaid source. One is different CTX beta 800 4A, portion the 2nd is simply a smaller CLX 350 devoted to producing astir 40 antithetic components for the optical industry.

The 2 caller machines were instantly equipped with Industry 4.0-compliant Halter loading robots identical to the first. Production connected each 3 twin-spindle lathes tin proceed unattended for an mean of fractional a shift, which maximises productivity and reduces labour costs.

Automation has improved accumulation ratio to specified an grade that the subcontractor intends to proceed automating its plant. A Halter LoadAssistant is planned for an existing DMG Mori lathe connected the shopfloor and asking Halter to adhd further functions similar workpiece polishing and grinding to the automation cells is being considered.

Confident of the future, Mr Euler concludes: “Automation has improved the utilisation of our CNC machines, accrued output and quality, and reduced our hourly rates. The little outgo of accumulation positive adjacent faster, much reliable transportation has strengthened our competitiveness.

“Without unscheduled instrumentality downtime we tin program accumulation amended and are nary longer truthful reliant connected unit being present, truthful we tin much easy grip holidays and absences owed to illness.

“Automation besides makes jobs much attractive, truthful it is easier to find staff. Younger employees successful peculiar amusement large involvement successful and committedness to the technology.”

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