FEATURE Robotics ROBOTICS ACHIEVE ‘LIGHTS OUT’ AMBITION


Josh Roberts, Head of Applications Engineering at Festo GB, explores the challenges, innovations, and 


A


major manufacturer of hard disk drives (HDDs) has achieved ‘lights out’ operation in its production facility


using a modular automated storage and retrieval system (ASRS) featuring Festo robotic handling technology. The ASRS was architected and designed by DPB Automation, with the controls and safety solution designed by RH Electrical Engineering, and software developed by Lumico. The modular ASRS meets the customer’s challenging space constraints and cycle times.


This was a tough project, with many automation challenges. It also involved working across international borders,  barriers — sometimes during lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite all these hurdles, we were able to push the automation envelope, and the team has delivered what we believe is the most advanced HDD automated storage and retrieval system in the world. The HDD manufacturer is at the forefront of data storage, producing high-quality solid-state and hard disk drives for both  facility in South East Asia. The factory makes around 400 million pieces per year. The production lifecycle of each piece is about  of high-value product, or work-in-progress, at any one time. The objective was to reduce human interaction by automating the transfer of product between production cells before packing and shipping.  HDD manufacturer embarked on a three- year roadmap, aiming to create a fully automated ‘lights out’ factory environment. Automated Storage and Retrieval was central to delivering this vision. This  newly manufactured hard drives, where partially complete order quantities can be  receiving a bulk picking order from the factory information system, the automation  storage grid and prepares them for direct shipment.


The systems experts involved in developing the ASRS came to the project 


16 February 2025 | Automation


Automation was introduced through a North American electronics test house that already worked with the HDD manufacturer. DPB Automation also had a longstanding relationship with Festo and control consultants RH Electrical Engineering. Software specialists Lumico had worked directly with the HDD manufacturer for several years on their journey toward full factory automation. Dave Bowyer, head of DPB Automation, said: “Mechanical system development often involves developing an operating principle to go with it. Then follows the necessity for the drives and controls to operate the automation. Festo’s portfolio contained virtually everything we needed in this regard. Then, of course, we needed the right software to bring it to life.” This is where Lumico came into their own. Steve Kennington, co-founder and director of Lumico, recalled: “Integration with the existing factory automation software was crucial for success because this ‘parent’  requests the material in and out of the ASRS. Our existing relationship with the client’s engineering teams was a big advantage because the trust was already there.” With the team assembled, it was time to


address the project’s automation challenges. Delivering a ‘lights out’ operation demanded an ASRS with a capacity of 8,500 drives that could achieve rapid cycle times of 3.3–3.6 seconds from ‘product in’ to ‘product out.’ These speeds meant that it was not practical to have one monolithic system because the


 Automation designed a modular system,  to optimise footprint and make use of the vertical space in the factory. There are six systems in all, each running on a cycle time of 19.8 seconds. A further requirement was   process cycle times. Essentially, the ASRS comprises a large vertical array with a conveyor running through it. Each HDD on the conveyor is bar-coded, and the ASRS automatically  and loads it into the storage slots using pneumatics. Each piece is oriented and tilted to the correct angle, ready for the main handler to come and collect it for storage in the form of a grid. The cant of eight degrees ensures that the drives cannot work their way out of the disk drawers. Gantry robots on the X and Z axes enable parallel operation of the modular units to achieve the desired capacity in the available space. A further design consideration was that the new ASRS had to be static dissipative to prevent any electrical charge from damaging the HDDs. It therefore uses carbon-loaded plastic for the racking and grounded grid plates.


The system incorporates Festo CMMT-AS multi-protocol servo motor controllers and Festo CMMT-ST multi-protocol 24 V DC servo controllers to achieve the necessary speed and precision when picking and placing the HDDs during storage and


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