ATX West 2020

Lean is a culture in which people use tools to continuously solve problems. In a Lean organization, tools are used to visualize problems and people are trained to solve these problems. Lean manufacturing is a methodology that focuses on minimizing waste within manufacturing systems while simultaneously maximizing productivity.

Lightweight and versatile aluminum structural framing improves ergonomics which will maximize your productivity and is a simple solution that allows for light weight, adjustable work stations while removing the old steel, stationary workstations of the past.

Once the physical environment and assembly process begins to become efficient, it is a natural progression to upgrade the workstation technology by adding intuitive worker guidance that provides error-proofing and data capture for better control on the assembly line.

This might be as simple as deploying sensor technology to troubleshoot or identify problem areas, followed by the utilization of sensors for full-time monitoring that feeds information into an already existing data collection system.

Mechatronics@Work combines high performance mechanical technologies and motion control systems with open, user-friendly programming environments. The integration of technology gives you the ability to gather information from each source about the process that allows for data-informed decision making. If your production needs require customization and batch size of one, it is important to use open, scalable and flexible protocols to ensure your current and future technologies can be integrated and won’t hold you back.

The Mechatronics@Work, Factory of the Future Showcase allows visitors to order a customized golf ball sleeve using a tablet to select the desired stack of three colored golf balls. Once the order is entered, the job is processed and tracked throughout the production flow and the status is displayed live.

Integrating key pieces of data that are relevant to your vision and pre-defined goals will allow you to make the right analysis and provide the foundation for making smart, fast and informed decisions.

Network new and existing machines cost efficiently and optimize production processes and product quality: The IoT Gateway makes it easy to connect to Industry 4.0 environments without intervening in the automation logic. The precisely coordinated combination of control hardware and software for implementing IT applications collects sensor and process data, transmits it to MES, cloud applications or local machine state monitoring systems, for example, and enables process data analysis.

Smart systems that employ flexible features such as cabinet free motors, independent pallet motion, and all the associated inherent machine safety features lead to the ability to optimize the machine’s functions. When connected devices can speak openly to each other they can combine their tasks into an automated sequence.

The ActiveMover is a smart solution that employs flexible features such as free programming. Control of each individual workpiece pallet allows flexibility in retooling processes. With a visual display of what is happening in the systems, ActiveMover increases production efficiency by monitoring the state of power consumption, cycle events, lubrication, temperature and more. Virtual simulations allow for optimizing pallet use to ensure low maintenance interruptions and increased throughput. This paves the way for predicting the health of your machine to maintain as much uptime as possible.

The ultimate achievement in connectivity is the potential for predictive maintenance solutions that flag issues before downtime occurs. This allows for ecosystem partners to be notified of impending issues or follow up needs and extends into automatic ordering capability of the machine through systems like SAP, ensuring parts are available before failures occur.

The Smart Assembly 4.0 Conveyor is the ultimate achievement in connectivity with the integration of multiple technologies in a smart and flexible assembly system. With demands for a batch size of one, the Smart Assembly 4.0 Conveyor combines manual and automatic functions ideally suited for situations needing monitored manual rework.

Whether assembly, joining, forming or testing the Smart Function Kit is suitable for many standardized applications in the field of pressing and joining. The modular system combines mechanical and electrical Rexroth components and software, providing a fast, ready-to-use mechatronic package for forces from 2 to 30 kN.

Benefits:

• Easy product selection - Preselected mechanical, electrical and software components are combined in various kits
• Delivered in a single package, including preinstalled operating software
• Automatic parameterization of the servo drive
• Small number of interfaces (servo drive with integrated motion control)
• No programming knowledge required