news


coboT InnovaTIon resolves redeploymenT challenge o


mron is the first automation provider to bring to market a fast redeployment solution for machine tending collaborative robots.


Incorporating breakthrough fully-integrated landmark functionality, omron’s mobile cobot workstation addresses the issue of under- utilisation that can render automation unviable for high product mix manufacturers and smes. by enabling cobots to be redeployed on different tasks with minimal reconfiguration, this agile automation solution accelerates return on investment (roI). many machine shops and manufacturers still rely on workers to manually


load and unload machines; it is an area where automation has been slow to take off because conventional fenced robots occupy too much space and restrict layouts. In recent years, cobots have galvanised higher volume operations to improve productivity with safe machine tending, as they can work alongside people without fencing on a very small footprint. however, these units are usually dedicated to a single task, as redeploying them is time- consuming and complex. as a result, cobot investments tend to be cost-prohibitive for low and medium volume operations. “cobots are no longer a rarity on the production floor, but they are


limited in that they can’t be recalibrated for different tasks without considerable human intervention. This usually means a cobot is purchased to complete one task and is under-utilised – especially by smes who do not have the throughput. It is not uncommon for a cobot to be used for as little as 20 per cent of the time, making it a costly investment,” explained dan rossek, regional marketing manager at omron uK. recognising this limitation, omron’s engineers have developed an


industry first – a mobile cobot workstation that can switch between multiple tasks with minimal reconfiguration. The user can simply move the cobot from station to station, plug-in and ‘play’. “our fast redeployment solution allows the cobot to be moved quickly and


easily from one machine tending station or task to the next with minimal reconfiguration. This is exciting because if users can maximise cobot utilisation, they can vastly improve both total cost of ownership (Tco) and


overall equipment effectiveness (oee). The bottom line is that instead of buying two or three cobots, they can buy one and redeploy it as needed,” said rossek. using an in-built camera,


the intelligent mobile cobot workstation reads the barcode or rFId tag that identifies its workstation location. Thanks to omron’s ‘industry first’ fully-integrated landmark functionality, a sensor enables the cobot to self-position with sub-millimetre accuracy. The cobot then calls up the relevant recipe for the task at that station. “ordinarily, the big challenge when moving a robot is that it loses its


orientation and has to be repositioned to sub-millimetre accuracy. with our solution, accuracy is compensated by landmark detection so that the cobot retains its repeatability. you simply move it to its new location and the camera references it and recalibrates all of its coordinates,” explained rossek. mobile machine tending without fencing is particularly relevant today, as it


can give much-needed flexibility to covId-compliant factories, where workforce social distancing is required on cramped production lines. “we have spent a lot of time since the start of the pandemic discussing with


manufacturers how they can reduce their workforce density without completely changing their plant and machine layouts. This has resulted in a lot of interest in deploying cobots to reduce the number of operators on a particular station area to enable safe social distancing measures,” noted rossek. Industry can see the launch of the system at omron’s new virtual exhibition


facility online: industrial.omron.eu/en/news-events/events/virtual-exhibition. industrial.omron.eu/en/news-events/events/virtual-exhibition


New project to eNcourage laser take-up


lasers to improve manufacturing processes. The mTc leads a group of 11 research organisations


T


and market-leading companies from across europe in project shark, aimed at encouraging the industrial uptake of laser texturing to speed up and improve manufacturing. laser texturing can be used to change the texture or


topography of a component to achieve specific functionality, for example, low friction or low adhesion. The project’s successful outcome has lowered design


and processing barriers, resulting in higher quality and more reliable products and components. The laser texturing process can be used in a wide


variety of industries and can result in lower production costs, faster product development and up to 50 per cent improvement in product performance, depending on the surface texture design used. www.the-mtc.org


he coventry-based manufacturing Technology centre is leading a europe-wide project to increase the use of


emissions, in line with the government’s ‘net Zero’ sustainability agenda, industrial compressor brand worthington creyssensac has launched an upgraded range of oil- injected air compressors, which deliver a significantly lower environmental footprint. Featuring a completely redesigned air


lower energy compressors launched I


n support of the manufacturing sector’s drive to improve efficiency and cut carbon


end element, worthington’s innovative rollair 300-850 small screw compressor models facilitate a market-leading increase of 15 per cent in Free air delivery (Fad) output, as well as a reduction in energy consumption of up to 12 per cent. In addition, the combination of an anti-


condensation oil heater, tropical thermostat and a larger 500-litre air receiver enables the units to operate on very low duty cycles, where the demand for air is intermittent, without the issue of condensation forming within the oil.


where there is a need for large volumes of air on continuous demand, such as an industrial production process, worthington’s rollair belt-driven, screw compressors can be configured as either floor mounted, tank mounted or tank mounted with refrigerant air dryer. The latter version delivers a 55 per cent reduction in global warming potential (gwp) over previous generation screw and dryer packages, which is a result of the change from r134a hFc refrigerant gas to r513a hFo gas within the refrigerant dryer. compressor power ranges from three to 10 horsepower in either eight or 10 bar versions and distributors also have the option of a pressure conversion kit for flexibility in stock holding and to ultimately ensure the end user gets exactly the right pressure unit for their application. offering a fully-integrated configuration


with combined air receiver, tank, filtration and refrigerant dryer, provides customers with a compact, virtually silent unit, so it can be located closer to the point of use, requiring less pipework. Internal componentry has been redesigned, to allow for easier maintenance and removable service panels enable quick access. www.worthington- creyssensac.com


FacTory&handlIngsoluTIons | aprIl 2021 5


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54