How to Answer 5 Tough Questions About Your Automation ...

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In the world of robotics automation, the key to success is often in the details. Once you&#;ve scoped your needs and documented the process, it&#;s time to focus on the elements that are needed to truly customize the process automation to your unique needs. For factory leaders, this means honing in on the small but critical decisions around how to move parts, what end-of-arm tooling solutions are needed, and more. Here&#;s a closer look at five challenging questions you may encounter during your automation component selection &#; and how to successfully navigate them.

Do you need remote vision capabilities?

Today&#;s robotics systems don&#;t just work hard; they can also be paired with optics for powerful vision capabilities that increase the precision of the work they do at several points in the automation process. Not every factory layout or production automation requires vision. However, there are a few common scenarios where this can be helpful:

• Parts pickup: Due to space constraints or other issues, it may be difficult to develop a parts-feeding layout that works well with high precision assembly. In these cases, vision-guided robots can pick up parts and then feed them further into the process.
• Measuring: Does any part of your process require measuring?
• Scanning: Vision-guiding solutions enable robots to scan barcodes, labels, and other markers that may be part of the manufacturing process.
• Conducting inspections: Vision technology can help improve your QA by involving robots in the inspection process. Robots can inspect surfaces, packaging, component quality, final placement and defects.

What&#;s the difference between feeder types on the market today?

Getting parts from point A to point B is the heartbeat of a successful automated process. Known within the manufacturing industry as &#;parts presentation,&#; this part of your setup dictates how your factory will get individual components to your robot for assembling. Choosing the right sequence and equipment has a significant impact on every element of your productivity &#; especially speed. When you&#;re designing your process, there are different types of feeders to choose from, depending on your needs. Some to consider include:

• Flex feeders: Flex feeding systems are designed to work with a range of parts. This solution includes the ability to use vision-guided robots to select the parts they want during the assembly process.
• Linear feeders: A linear feeding system is similar to a conveyer belt. These systems include conveyors or use vibratory technology to move parts along the system to the robot.
• Bowl feeders: These feeders are typically used for more routine components. Vibratory bowl feeders can be used for a range of materials. When gentler pressure or high-speed production is needed, centrifugal bowl feeders can be a great choice.

How can you customize your end-of-arm tooling?

Once you&#;ve determined how you&#;ll get your parts to the robot, it&#;s time to evaluate your need for end-of-arm tooling (EOAT). EOAT solutions are a standard aspect of the manufacturing process. During the automation process, you&#;ll identify your needs, including what standard end-of-arm tools you require and whether you&#;ll need custom solutions. Customization can come in the form of personalized tools, or the way the EOAT design and build is implemented at your factory. EOATs are designed to go onto the end of the robot. They interact with the environment and help execute the production process. Considerations when choosing them include:

• Power source: Do you want electric, hydraulic or pneumatic-powered tools?
• Outline your application needs: What will the tools be doing? Some common tasks include picking up components or moving them between locations.
• Different types of tools: There is a wide range of end-of-arm tools. Once you define your needs, you can begin to explore the benefits of various tools and determine which best fits your needs.

What do you need in a base to stabilize the whole system?

Your robot&#;s base is the foundation of the whole project, yet it&#;s also the piece that often gets the least amount of scrutiny. There is a range of base options, from tables and blocks to robotic pedestals. Certain robots pair well with pre-made bases; other production automation projects will require customization to work well. Factors to consider when selecting a base include:

• Can it support the weight of your robot, including the machinery and maximum payload?
• Does the base have the ability to be agile enough to accommodate the motion of your production process, without destabilizing or slowing down production?
• Do you need solutions such as cooling troughs or surface grinding for precision?
• Finally, are there aesthetic considerations that the base needs to accommodate through custom paint, lacquer, or other approaches?

What role does IT play in meeting factory standards?

Another layer to the automation process is the role of your IT department in ensuring that the robots and automation you work with meet factory standards. Engage your IT department early on in the process, as well as during component selections. Underlying infrastructure can impact your long-term success. Here&#;s a quick checklist of factory standards to consider:

• What role does IT currently play in your production process? Some factories have heavily integrated systems, while others are technology-light. Define the scope of IT involvement and how existing systems will support or integrate with incoming solutions.
• Do you have a standard fieldbus communications platform? Fieldbus platforms are an essential role in smart manufacturing, allowing you to virtually connect hundreds of different points to your core robotics controller.
• Are there standard protocols that you use? Different industries, and even simply different systems, use a range of protocols to communicate. Common options include Ethernet/IP, ProfiNet, DeviceNet, SmartWire-DT, and Varan.
• Are there any vision components, such as cameras, lasers, or processors, that need to be considered?
• How do your components relate back to your system&#;s safety controller program?
• Are there any compatibility, communications, or other issues that need to be considered in relation to the robotic controller or the larger industrial network?

Attention to detail throughout the automation process is time-consuming, but it helps ensure that the payoff for your investment is significant. Automation components help customize the top layer of your robotics experience to your unique needs. Today&#;s smart manufacturing opportunities are using vision, end-of-arm tooling, and feeders to speed up production while taking steps to make sure robotic solutions are fully supported by both a solid foundation and the right technology resources.

Are you ready to learn more about robotics automation? Download Automation 101: A Step-by-Step Guide to Getting Started with Robotics today!

Instead of asking how many PLCs or servos the vendor sells, ask how many thousands of packaging machines their servos equip annu

Previously we asked the rhetorical question What&#;s under the hood of your automation system? More and more control vendors are adopting the IEC -3 programming language standard but that doesn&#;t make them all equally capable. That makes it important to thoroughly evaluate a control platform before committing to it on your packaging machine.

In this article we provide Functional specification text for PLC and servo capabilities that packagers and machine builders can download and paste into their corporate or site control specification documents.

Before you get to the RFQ stage however here are ten pre-qualifying questions to ask prospective automation suppliers.

1. How do you integrate motion and logic? Is all control done within the same processor or do you still employ a rack-based system?

To be truly integrated motion and logic control should be performed within a single IEC -3 conforming program and on a single processor. Backplanes and multi-card solutions simply slow things down too much.

2. Do you support and conform to all the IEC -3 programming languages?

It&#;s important to conform to all the languages in the standard and to follow Best Practices in programming using each of the languages to its best advantage. The resulting control architecture will then be modular and clear instead of monolithic and cryptic.

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3. What do you provide to help machine builders develop world-class machines as quickly as possible? How many packaging machine functions do you provide?

Not only should a completely open programming environment be mandatory it needs to be supported by a software library containing literally hundreds of pre-tested software objects (IEC Function Blocks) along with routines and programming templates designed specifically for packaging machines.

4. How many servo motors can you control with one system? What is the motion network update rate? How many virtual axes?

The current state of the art is 99 axes per controller with an overall update rate of 1 2 or 4 milliseconds maximum for the entire network not cumulative per axis. An unlimited number of virtual axes should be supported.

5. Are required components such as Ethernet Sercos field buses etc. supplied as additional option cards or as standard equipment? What do I need to access all parameters and other data in the system?

All these features should be standard equipment. Standard methods for interfaces should also include OPC server Web server data/message logger digital oscilloscope and other tools to give you complete control over the data flowing into and out of your machines.

6. What solutions do you have for rotating capping/filling/labeling machines?

Integral motor/drives are key to upgrading rotary machines in some cases doubling throughputs. These motor/drives can be mounted right on a rotating table providing precise control of capping head torque bottle plates and dosing systems.

7. How do you handle electronic camming? Do you still use x-y tables and simple 3rd degree polynomials? Can you change any segment of the cam on the fly?

Insist on 5th degree polynomial cam profiles and the ability to change cams on the fly. Cam tables should never be downloaded to a servo drive this is a last-generation practice before Pentiums that distributed processing tasks at the expense of speed. Cams should be generated mathematically by the controller during operation.

8. What software costs can we expect for our entire group of engineers? How many software components do I have to buy for each engineer?

Hidden software costs can add up quickly but not if you require that the vendor&#;s software development environment be provided as a site license . . . so all of your engineers can access the tools libraries and templates they need for a fixed cost.

9. What are you doing to reduce the amount of cabinet space on machines?

Do your machine cabinets seem to be getting as big as your packaging machines?

Space-saving controllers and drives can reduce cabinet size by as much as 50% compared to conventional PLCs motion controllers and drives.

10. How many thousands of packaging machines did you equip with servosystems in the last year?

This is a pivotal question. When it comes to domain expertise it&#;s not how many thousands of PLCs or even servos the company sells it&#;s how many thousands of packaging machines their servos equip every year.

Contact us to discuss your requirements of Automation Equipment Precision Parts. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.