01
ABB IRB6700 INSTALLATIONS ENTIRELY ACCORDING TO PLAN
At a large supplier in the packaging industry, I have commissioned an IRB6700 with servo tool and multiple SICK safety scanners together with them. The robot handles different products and stacks them in cages. Because the cages have too large a mesh width for a standard safety fence, we opted for a safety PLC in combination with three SICK safety scanners to monitor the environment. As soon as an operator enters the unsafe area, the FPLC makes a choice: either stop the robot, or ensure that the robot does not enter that area and only continues when it is safe again.
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The robot was supplied by ABB and we reused as much software as possible from an existing line. The FPLC was reprogrammed and integrated with SafeMove 1 from ABB for extra safety. The end customer took care of the entire installation themselves, and together we programmed, tested and commissioned the functions of the robot and PLC. Thanks to remote support, we were able to quickly resolve any teething problems in the first few weeks after commissioning, which kept the start-up phase short.
Everyone is happy:
- Production staff, because they no longer have to stack manually.
- End customer, because everything stayed within budget and the robot worked flawlessly straight away.
- Me, because this was a super cool job with great collaboration!
02
VIRTUAL COMMISSIONING AVOIDS MANY PROBLEMS
For a foreign end customer, I performed a complete simulation in RobotStudio. All programs were tested for accessibility, cycle time and parameterization, in combination with a Siemens S71500 F PLC and a Siemens S7300.
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The normal process commands were sent from the PLC, which were then executed by the robots. This project took place in a heavy industrial environment, with three IRB8700 robots (payload 800 kg) and two MultiMove IRB7600 robots that move synchronously. Using Virtual Reality in RobotStudio, we went through the entire installation in advance and checked all positions for accessibility.
After the simulation, the commissioning could start. Of course, some process parameters still had to be tuned, but because the technical part had been simulated in advance, we saved a lot of time!
This case perfectly shows how a good simulation prevents problems during commissioning. We identified many possible obstacles in advance and solved them immediately where necessary. Properly simulating a project is not easy, because you have to deal with 3D models and external communication, but it saves a lot of time.
03
INTEGRATION COMPLETE CELL FOR THE FOOD INDUSTRY
For a new player in the food market, I supplied and integrated a complete ABB IRB1200 Clean Room robot, including gripper, linear guide with an external (7th) axis, a Siemens S1200 safety PLC with SICK safety scanner and a stainless steel discharge conveyor. All of this was installed and integrated on site in collaboration with Beers Machine Techniek from Obdam and of course in close consultation with the end customer. All components used are food grade.
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The robot searches for and grabs three cups with a specially developed gripper. It then places them in a mold, after which the cups are cleaned, filled, sealed and provided with a date/production mark in an external machine. They are then placed on the discharge conveyor, where there is sufficient space for a few hours of production. The robot and PLC together ensure seamless control of the external machine, so that everything happens exactly at the right time. As an additional function, a wrapper has been added, which neatly rolls up the foil with a Siemens servo.
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In preparation, we simulated the entire machine as a digital twin. This allowed us to determine the optimal movements of the robot despite the limited space.
This installation was built to lighten the workload of employees. Where the cups were previously placed manually and the machine was operated, the robot now largely takes over. During and after commissioning, we implemented various optimizations, many of which via remote support. This means that the robot now runs even more efficiently and takes even more work off your hands!
04
EFFICIENT COOPERATION DURING ABB INSTALLATION
In the Achterhoek, at a leading producer of custom blades, we updated an existing robot line. The line, installed in 2014, consists of a handling robot (ABB IRB6700 on track) and a milling robot (ABB IRB6650-S), controlled by a PC application and a Schneider PLC. The old software was difficult to maintain and major changes were needed to speed up the process and improve reliability.
In 2020, it was decided to fully equip the installation with customer-specific software. Together with IC10, Noord Brabant Techniek and Technology Support, we replaced the Schneider PLC with a Siemens, equipped the robots with Profinet, and developed a new PC application that perfectly matches the wishes of the end customer. All hardware has been updated to the latest techniques, so that previous problems no longer occur.
We simulated the complete robot installation in RobotStudio in advance, so that everything was already tested before we started the physical conversion. We carried out the conversion itself in a short time, despite the busy period in which the end customer was. Thanks to good cooperation with all parties and a flexible end customer, everything went according to plan.
The line was operational again within the set time. We were able to solve any problems that still arose remotely. The result? The handling robot now works a few seconds faster per sheet and the milling robot compensates perfectly according to the specified contours.The new software makes future expansions easy and ensures that maintenance of the robots, PLC and PC does not cause any problems. This was really a great project to start 2021 with! Big shout-out to the end customer for the top cooperation and quick decision-making, which allowed us to work efficiently and implement last-minute adjustments smoothly.