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Special machine for case production Joining automated – industrial connectors from Eisele facilitate tool change
T
he Steinbeis ALP research centre specialises in the automation of lightweight construction processes and cooperated with partners to design a
system for the assembly of plastic cases for a company in the plastics engineering segment. For this project Steinbeis ALP relied on the industrial connector, a multiple and multi-media connector from Eisele Pneumatics GmbH & Co. KG, the expert for high-quality, easy to mount, connection solutions. The Steinbeis ALP Research Centre for Automation in Lightweight
Construction Processes is part of the Steinbeis Network and sustainably contributes to the transfer of knowledge and technology to practical applications. Steinbeis ALP, headquartered in Chemnitz, has 10 employees, and works closely together in research and development with the Chemnitz University of Technology and with partners in the region. Steinbeis ALP executes relevant industrial orders, in which the results of the basic research are implemented in practical applications. A recent project that Steinbeis ALP, in close cooperation with SOTEX Sondermaschinen GmbH based in Auerbach in the Erzgebirge region, started in the summer of 2015, includes the design of a system for assembling plastic cases for HVB Kunststofftechnik GmbH, likewise located in the Erzgebirge region. "The specific task was to automate the process step of joining together the upper and lower case halves through hinge bolts that are 100 mm in length", explains Steve Sockol, a project manager and research assistant for Steinbeis ALP who works in the Department of Lightweight Structures and Polymer Technology at the Chemnitz University of Technology. Within approximately four months the experts from Steinbeis ALP implemented the complete development, installation and commissioning of the system, which was built and delivered to SOTEX Sondermaschinen GmbH in the spring of 2016. Now, in the production process, the machine takes over the joining of the case halves, directly after injection moulding. To achieve this, operating personnel manually insert the upper and lower element in the system. Then at the touch of a button, up to three hinges are automatically mounted; the hinges are removed from the magazine with swivel grippers, positioned in the pneumatic press-in fixture and then pressed in hydraulically. The system is an open design, since it must be easily accessible to operating personnel for the frequent plate changes and manual insertion of the case halves. If an employee enters the safety area, light barriers ensure that the machine comes to an immediate stop.
Connections can be freely combined as desired Special format parts for pneumatic clamping of the components are used for the different case types that are assembled. An industrial connector serves as the interface to supply this process with compressed air. In their search for the ideal connection solution, the project partners decided on Eisele Pneumatics GmbH & Co. KG. The Waiblingen-based company has 80 years of experience with high-quality solid metal push-in connectors. The push-in connector selected for this project was the Eisele MULTILINE industrial connector, a modular multiple and multi-media connector with adaptive inserts. It is assembled on the basis of the Eisele modular kit system. The stainless steel components with rectangular base bodies consist of a plug and socket. The modular design allows flexible integration of different tube diameters, connection types and media. In this manner, connections for compressed air, vacuum, gases, coolants, fluids and even push-in connectors for electrical and electronic cables, can be combined in a single interface to create the custom configuration required for the particular application. Connection and disconnection are very fast and an integrated coding in the housings prevent incorrect connections. The push-in connectors of this innovative and flexible system are
mounted virtually without tools and significantly simplify and accelerate tool change and format change. This aspect convinced the responsible parties at Steinbeis ALP and SOTEX. The base body of the Eisele connector used in the case assembly system can combine up to eight connections. For this application, previously four pneumatic connections were integrated in the plug that supplies the pneumatic clamping fixture for the case halves. Another connection is for electrical signals. These signals transmit feedback for position sensing of the exchangeable plates. The plug insert is already pre-assembled and is based on standardised M12 technology. Thus potential error sources are avoided. Three other connections can also be retrofitted as needed. With the Eisele industrial connector, these connection tasks can be accomplished in an outstanding manner, "in one go". Steve Sockol explains: "Above all, what convinced us was the easy handling, the minimal installation space and the robust design of the multiple connector, which is manufactured completely of steel". In particular the practical locking lever facilitates connecting and disconnecting of the Eisele industrial connector in a few seconds and thus reduces the required manual force.
Eisele
info@eisele.eu
www.eisele.eu The two case parts are pneumatically fixed in place on a model-specific exchangeable plate
CONNECTINGINDUSTRY.COM/DESIGNSOLUTIONS DESIGN SOLUTIONS | SEPTEMBER 2019 37
Plastic cases are assembled in the machine developed and built at Steinbeis ALP in Chemnitz
The exchangeable plate is connected to the machine via the individually configurable Eisele industrial connector
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