Wednesday, July 11, 2007 12:27:12 AM
ABB is perfect partner for DaimlerChrysler foundry (at least according to ABB)
2007-07-10 - ABB robots have brought precision casting and greater flexibility to a DaimlerChrysler foundry in Germany. “One of the key criteria was finding a supplier who could do everything on their own,” says the customer. “That’s where ABB trumped the others.”
By Editorial services
The DaimlerChrysler foundry at Mettingen in Germany is one of the largest light alloy foundries in Europe, producing a wide range of castings – including cylinder heads, cases, oil sumps, subframes and gearboxes – for Mercedes cars and light commercial vehicles.
When the foundry wanted to revamp two inflexible casting plants into units that could produce large quantities of several different types of cylinder at the same time, they approached ABB.
“We wanted a system supplier with know-how,” says Ralph Koppenhöfer, who is in charge of the light metal cylinder head No. 2 foundry. “One of the key criteria was finding a supplier who could do everything on their own. That’s where ABB trumped the others.”
Flexible production
The solution - four heavy-duty IRB 7600 robots, two at each casting plant, programmed by ABB robotics software - has enabled the foundry to switch successfully to highly flexible production.
The ABB robotics solution enabled the foundry to switch to highly flexible production.
Previously the plants could only produce one type of cylinder head at a time. Now they produce 17 different types, with four to six types usually in production at any one time.
Each type has a different casting weight of between 26 and 35 kilograms. Production capacity is about 2,000 cylinder heads a day.
Working side by side in a confined space, one robot scoops aluminum while the other pours it into a mold on a conveyor, then vice-versa in 30-second cycles. Each robot is given the parameters for the cylinder head next in line and it loads the relevant program for that particular type, thus ensuring flexibility without stoppages.
After the metal has been poured, it is allowed to cool for 220 seconds inside the closed mould. The casting is then taken out of the mould and allowed to cool further.
“The challenge was to keep the conveyor moving during the whole production process,” says Albrecht Gruner of the foundry’s planning department. “That’s unusual as most conveyors stop and start, and the robots have to imitate the movement of the conveyor.”
http://www.abb.com/cawp/seitp202/646be778e6a2facfc125727d003a74f1.aspx
2007-07-10 - ABB robots have brought precision casting and greater flexibility to a DaimlerChrysler foundry in Germany. “One of the key criteria was finding a supplier who could do everything on their own,” says the customer. “That’s where ABB trumped the others.”
By Editorial services
The DaimlerChrysler foundry at Mettingen in Germany is one of the largest light alloy foundries in Europe, producing a wide range of castings – including cylinder heads, cases, oil sumps, subframes and gearboxes – for Mercedes cars and light commercial vehicles.
When the foundry wanted to revamp two inflexible casting plants into units that could produce large quantities of several different types of cylinder at the same time, they approached ABB.
“We wanted a system supplier with know-how,” says Ralph Koppenhöfer, who is in charge of the light metal cylinder head No. 2 foundry. “One of the key criteria was finding a supplier who could do everything on their own. That’s where ABB trumped the others.”
The solution - four heavy-duty IRB 7600 robots, two at each casting plant, programmed by ABB robotics software - has enabled the foundry to switch successfully to highly flexible production.
The ABB robotics solution enabled the foundry to switch to highly flexible production.
Previously the plants could only produce one type of cylinder head at a time. Now they produce 17 different types, with four to six types usually in production at any one time.
Each type has a different casting weight of between 26 and 35 kilograms. Production capacity is about 2,000 cylinder heads a day.
Working side by side in a confined space, one robot scoops aluminum while the other pours it into a mold on a conveyor, then vice-versa in 30-second cycles. Each robot is given the parameters for the cylinder head next in line and it loads the relevant program for that particular type, thus ensuring flexibility without stoppages.
After the metal has been poured, it is allowed to cool for 220 seconds inside the closed mould. The casting is then taken out of the mould and allowed to cool further.
“The challenge was to keep the conveyor moving during the whole production process,” says Albrecht Gruner of the foundry’s planning department. “That’s unusual as most conveyors stop and start, and the robots have to imitate the movement of the conveyor.”
http://www.abb.com/cawp/seitp202/646be778e6a2facfc125727d003a74f1.aspx
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