FEATURE Machine Buildingļ¹
Designing conveyor systems for fl exibility and improvement
M
anufacturers must always adapt to increase productivity and production output, ideally with minimal
disruption to operations. Some approaches, like upgrading machinery or adding an extra production line, are usually only possible at infrequent intervals. In between such major investments, improvements to process settings and practices such as changeover procedures are needed to raise effi ciency.
Conveyor system design As the main artery running through the production line, an intelligently-designed conveyor system can maximise production output, avoid manual handling and ensure best utilisation of factory space. Confi guring a conveyor system to optimise the operation of a facility is a skill that often involves customising standard off -the-shelf units or conceiving individual solutions to specifi c challenges that exist within a factory, such as space limitations and elevation changes. Buff er units are often required to accommodate diff erences in the capabilities of machines in the line, and enable the entire line to operate in a coherent, coordinated manner. Conveyor vendors have a large variety of diff erent options and confi gurations, and even special proprietary products they can tailor to fulfi l customers’ needs.
Because the system is usually designed by specialists according to a brief, the result is well adapted to the factory. As those needs change and evolve, adaptating the conveyor system can be diffi cult. Changing stop positions implemented with pneumatic cylinders and their associated sensors and solenoid valves, for example, can involve extensive software development, wiring and mechanical adjustment.
Linear modules Compared to conventional conveyors, Yamaha’s LCMR200 linear conveyor module allows much greater fl exibility to adapt and
26 May 2023 | Automation
improve line performance. Parameters such as acceleration, deceleration, speed and stop positions are set electronically and easily adjusted by writing the new desired values to the controller. In addition, the linear motor allows bi-directional movement.
The associated YHX controller eliminates writing ladder logic codes and allows the user to specify direct values and simple point-to-point moves. A single controller can coordinate multiple LCMR200 modules connected together as part of a complete production cell.
Because no additional sensors are needed to add extra stop positions, users can easily reconfi gure their production line without compromising on reliability. The linear motor accelerates and stops quickly and smoothly and the settling time after reaching the desired position can be very short. In fact, the settling time can be optimised by adjusting the positioning tolerance: allowing for greater tolerance permits reduced settling time. Moreover, users can increase the conveyor speed without needing to insert extra buff ering because each module can stop, restart and reverse independently, as needed, to deliver each workpiece at the optimum time.
The LCMR200 slider can be programmed to stop in any desired location, with ±5µm (maximum) positional repeatability. On the other hand, the transfer speed is adjusted electronically up to 2500mm/s.
The slider can carry loads up to 15kg and the module’s rigidity permits processes to be performed without removing the workpiece from the slider; see Figure 1, above. This ensures a fast cycle time and also saves the engineering eff ort and cost to develop a mechanism to transfer the workpiece to and from a separate jig for each process. The LCMR200 can help achieve 100% of the desired improvement in productivity. As a pilot project, redesigning one production line to replace conventional conveyors with LCMR200 modules realised a substantial reduction of transfer time. This time saving,
in turn, relieved pressure to shorten the cycle time of the various processes in the line. As a result the production volume has exceeded the team’s original target and the number of errors leading to stoppages has reduced to the point that this assembly line became regarded as a model line in the plant. The ability to change the module stop positions by reprogramming saves a large amount of manual setup work. An added QR code reader can identify each type of unit at the beginning of production to allow all the LCMR200 modules to reconfi gure their settings automatically. This eliminates the need for human interaction with machines or equipment using the touch panel, resulting in full end-to-end automation of product assembly. This way, small production runs can be as effi cient as the largest orders.
Challenges and solutions Conventional conveyors can be a barrier to progress, off ering limited fl exibility that demands extensive engineering eff ort to reconfi gure. In comparison, bidirectional linear conveyor modules allow extensive reconfi guration of parameters such as speed and stop positions, witi changes made independently. Additional benefi ts include the ability to perform processes such as mechanical assembly directly on the module, saving both process time and engineering overheads associated with removing and replacing the workpiece on a conventional conveyor.
CONTACT:
Yamaha Factory Automation Section
www.yamaha-motor-robotics.eu
Figure 1: Linear conveyor modules present workpieces directly to each process in a sequence
automationmagazine.co.uk
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