Driven by a commitment to innovation and the production of top-tier automotive components, a prominent local aftermarket high-performance auto parts manufacturer recently partnered with Industrial Automation Solution to build a Robotic Urethane Dispensing System. Their objective: to engineer and implement a sophisticated urethane and oil spraying rotary table system. This custom-designed automated solution is specifically intended to streamline and enhance the manufacturing process for their high-performance automobile air filters. This increased efficiency, improved product consistency, and ultimately, a superior filtration product for discerning automotive enthusiasts.
Designed for maximum flexibility and operational control, the system’s user interface offers an extensive library capable of holding in excess of a thousand unique dispensing patterns, accommodating a wide array of diverse mold configurations. Navigating through the production parameters is facilitated by a series of user-friendly screens. Here, the operator can effortlessly choose the specific mold pattern required for the current manufacturing cycle. Crucially, the interface also provides independent controls for enabling or disabling the Robotic Urethane Dispensing System and for initiating the automated ejection sequence of the completed component, ensuring precise customization for each production run.
The system utilizes a Mitsubishi proprietary industrial network protocol called CC-Link IE field basic to communicate to the HMI, PLC and servo drive. The 2 cobots are controlled by an ASCII Ethernet command set sent over Ethernet from the PLC.
The robotic urethane pouring system has the following components:
FX5U PLC
GT2510 User Interface
3KW Servo Amplifier and Servo Motor
(2) UR10 Universal Robots (Cobots)
To further enhance our throughput and streamline operations, we’ve recently added a new rotary table boasting ten stations, a substantial improvement over our previous six-station configuration. This expansion was accompanied by a significant technological upgrade: the new table was converted from a legacy CNC-based architecture to a more advanced and versatile PLC-based control system. This transition provides numerous advantages, including simplified programming, enhanced real-time control, and improved communication with other automated components in our facility, ultimately leading to greater efficiency and reliability.