FEATURE MACHINE BUILDING, FRAMEWORKS & SAFETY


include the Xelity 8-port unmanaged switches which prioritise PROFInet protocols. Xelity switches can transfer data packets at speeds of up to 100Mbit/s. Being compact in design, these can fit easily next to a power supply, contactor or relay without having to create extra space on the DIN rail or in the cable ducts. In addition, being push-in terminals makes them very practical. Not only are new plants equipped


BUILDING ROBOTICS WITH NETWORK TECHNOLOGY


When building its sophisticated robot cells, automation specialist HandlingTech specifies Murrelektronik’s unmanaged 8-port and 16-port switches. Here, the company explains why


F


ounded in 1994 as an automation newcomer in his parents’ basement


turned parts business, Jörg Hutzel’s family-owned company HandlingTech Automations-System is now well-known in robot automation and specialises in creating customer-specific solutions based on its standard robot cells. Offering everything from entry-level robotic cells upwards, as a system partner the company can take a project from a blank sheet of paper to the realisation of the system and beyond. Its range of services extends from consulting and planning to design, assembly and extensive after-sales services. “Our roots are in special machine


construction. Customers simply expect problem solving solutions from us,” commented Gregor Großhauser, who is responsible for sales and marketing at HandlingTech.


A MODULAR DESIGN HandlingTech’s automation systems enable full automation of industrial process sequences as either stand-alone machines or as machine adaptations. The modular systems can be easily and economically adapted to customers’ machine-specific requirements – from standard systems to the highly complex, with supplementary processes and


16 APRIL 2021 | DESIGN SOLUTIONS


automated parts feeds. However, not only are the robotic cells flexible, but they have received several industrial design awards, including the renowned iF product design award for innovative design. When building its systems, the company


needs automation components that are time tested and future-proof – and so Murrelektronik has been HandlingTech’s proven partner for many years. Marco Balzuweit, HandlingTech’s


electrical designer, explained: “The collaboration started with us using Murrelektronik’s Exact distribution boxes to bring data from field sensors into the control cabinet. Their implementation was followed by various power supplies – currently we are using Emparro switch- mode power supplies. Most recently, HandlingTech made the decision to use Murrelektronik products for the I/O distributors in the control cabinet. We selected Cube20S I/O systems which combine digital inputs and outputs into one cell and bring them back to the bus node. We have also made use of Murrelektronik’s extensive range of connection technology products.”


SWITCH SOLUTIONS Murrelektronik switches have been installed in HandlingTech’s standard robot cells since the beginning of 2019. These


/ DESIGNSOLUTIONS


From small to large – HandlingTech’s modular robot cells are an efficient cornerstone for economical automated production


with the Xelity switches, but these are retrofitted to older ones. Many older plants have Ethernet as the standard and are not yet equipped with a bus system, therefore HandlingTech’s electrical engineers have repeatedly integrated these switches during retrofits at the customer’s request. Their small size is a benefit here as, in a retrofit, space is often the limiting factor. Henning Schultz, electrician and


electrical designer in the production department at HandlingTech, said: “We provide two Xelity switches as standard for each robot cell in order to separate Ethernet and PROFInet whenever possible. Even if only four or five ports are occupied – in the highest expansion stage, we need all of them. It is also important for us, as well as for the control cabinet builders, to have a certain design standard. Murrelektronik switches are now part of almost every installation of ours.” The industrial PC, the robot, and the


safety and remote maintenance systems are connected to the switch via an Ethernet TCP/IP interface on the outside of the control cabinet so that it does not have to be opened for service work. This means that the majority of the ports are occupied, leaving one or two ports as a reserve, for measuring tasks in the cell. Xelity switches can reach their


HandlingTech equips its standard robot cells with two Xelity switches


communication limits when large amounts of data are involved – and this is where Murrelektronik’s Tree16 TX unmanaged switch comes into play. The 16-port unmanaged switch has two Gigabit Ethernet uplink ports and 14 Fast Ethernet downlink ports. Dennis Zimmer, Murrelektronik’s product


manager – Switches, explains the difference between these 16-port switches


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