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MACHINE CONTROL
FEATURE
In control of gasket productIon
OMRON’s Robotics Integrated Controller is the cornerstone
of a new robotic cell designed for the finishing of polyurethane gaskets for the wind energy market
T
relleborg Sealing Solutions (TSS) in Livorno, Italy, specialises in the production of seals that are installed on pneumatic
and hydraulic cylinders for market segments such as fluid power, agriculture, automotive and energy. At this site, the company has installed a new robotic cell to handle the finishing of polyurethane gaskets intended for the braking systems of wind turbines. The solution, conceived around OMRON’s Robotics Integrated Controller, has improved quality and productivity while meeting the growing demands.
a new solutIon
The aim of the new cell was to reduce the finishing times of the gaskets and improve the overall flexibility of the process so that new orders could be met more rapidly and effectively. David Caluri, who is responsible for
Machinery and Energy Excellence at Trelleborg Livorno, explained: “At maximum capacity, our existing machine could only achieve a cycle time of 17 seconds for each seal processed. Our goal was very ambitious: to dramatically reduce these times so that we could respond more quickly to customer needs, especially when faced by seasonal peaks in demand.” The new solution is based around two OMRON
Viper 650 articulated, anthropomorphic robots – one for pick and place and the other for cutting and finishing. Designed specifically for machining, assembly, and material handling processes, these can work at high speeds and in a totally synchronised way, managed by the OMRON NJ501-R Robotics Integrated Controller. In operation, the pick-and-place robot
receives the seals from a feeding system, picks them up and inserts them into a rotating spindle on the machine. The cutting robot then makes two cuts along the circumference of the seal – an inner and outer cut. This robot also has a picking tool, with a pneumatic gripper that picks up the newly processed piece and places the finished seal in a basket. “Beyond speed, the industry is also
increasingly demanding in terms of cutting specifications,” explained Caluri: “A clean edge is fundamental in hydraulic applications to guarantee the seal. The tolerances are very
SEPTEMBER 2022 DESIGN SOLUTIONS 37
narrow and difficult to achieve at high speeds. With this application we were able to achieve even tighter and even more precise tolerances.”
the controller
The Robotic Integrated Controller has enabled the company to integrate all the various devices in the robotic cell via EtherCAT and Ethernet/IP. These include the two robots, the human- machine interface (HMI OMRON NA5), the safety aspects using an OMRON NX-SL3300 safety controller and distributed NX-S modules, the pneumatics, and the logic and motion elements. Caluri explained: “The programming part
was very easy, because OMRON offers a single platform for all of the components that are used on this application. With the Sysmac Studio we were able to programme all of the different elements from a single solution – the inputs, outputs, safety, HMI and robotics. We can have an instant view of the individual components, even when searching for faults. Having total control of the automation allows us to be flexible in our activities and also gives us a big advantage in terms of training – with an all-in-one solution, it’s easier to keep
all the staff up to date.” He added: “In the field, everything is managed
through recipes. When we find the right set-up for the product that needs to be processed we give it a name and a code, which is saved so that it can be recalled at any time. This flexibility provides the company with a host of benefits. In the past, Trelleborg had to go through complex manual set-ups. Today, it can change the set-up several times a day – for instance, altering the cutting angle or addressing requests for new customised formats without the need for long and complex retooling operations. We know the functionality inside out.” Capable of processing a piece every 9.5
seconds, the solution has reduced cycle times by about 80%, enabling Trelleborg to improve the overall productivity of the process by some 20%. Helping to improve the procurement of gasket stocks at the various logistics centres in Europe, Asia and America, the company is now able to support its customers if there’s an increase in instant demand.
OMRON
https://industrial.omron.co.uk
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