OEM&Lieferant Ausgabe 2/2018 / OEM&Supplier Edition 2/2018

140 State-of-the-art control technology Lamprecht explains the reasons why the deci- sion makers at Ros opted for YASKAWA as robot supplier: “Firstly, the company’s experi- ence with the Japanese robots was positive and it saw no reason to change its single sourc- ing strategy. Secondly, the decision in favour of YASKAWA was clinched by the good repeat ac- curacy of the robots, and their speed and easy connection to image processing systems via Profinet.” When it comes to control and communica- tions technology, the plant reflects the state- of-the-art. Conventional wiring was re- nounced in favour of communication via Profinet, thus significantly reducing costs. All workpiece carriers are equipped with an RFID chip that, among other things, greatly facili- tates their identification. This is an important consideration, as several different workpiece carrier designs are required for assembly of the eight sleeve versions. Via RFID it is easy to verify that the suitable attachment for the se- lected component version is located on the ro- tary indexing table. One positive spin-off is that the data of each assembly stage is also stored on the chip. Furthermore, the operating team was able to operate the plant with the greatest of ease. While loading and unloading tasks are per- formed to a large part manually, all assembly stages run fully automatically. The operation of the system is extremely simple: the operator selects the appropriate variant on the control unit and starts the assembly process. The sys- tem would immediately recognise a faulty part and stop the assembly process. All in all, the system that was designed and built in-house satisfies all specifications. Lam- precht sums up: “The plant achieves the spec- ified cycle times, has the required flexibility for the assembly of all versions. It has an ex- tremely compact design, so that we can man- age with a small footprint, and it consists of first-class components, including the two YASKAWA robots that guarantee high per- formance and availability. All that without any costs for external engineering – what more could you wish for?” When assembling the cap, the YASKAWA six-axis robot follows an ingenious movement pattern. Ros GmbH & Co. KG www.ros-coburg.de With an annual sales volume of more than 410 billion Yen (about 3.5 billion euros), YASKAWA is a world-leading manu- facturer of servo drives (Sigma-7 Series), inverter drives (such as the GA700), and MOTOMAN industrial robots. Founded in 1915 in Japan, the company’s philosophy has been based on the principle of highest quality for more than 100 years, making YASKAWA a global leader. The wide range of YASKAWA’s business activities covers drives (inverters), motion control (AC servo motors and drives, machine control), robotics (industrial robots and robotics systems), systems engineering (medium voltage inverters, generators, converters), and information technology (software-based products). VIPA GmbH in Herzogenaurach, which specialises in visualisation and process automation, has also formed part of YASKAWA since 2012. Furthermore, YASKAWA acquired The Switch Engineering Cooperation, which does business in the wind turbine sector, in Oct. 2014. This makes YASKAWA one of the few global companies able to supply components and solutions for almost all indus- tries from a single source. Extensive investments in research and development have yielded numerous inventions, patents and innovations. These technological aspirations have enabled the Drives & Motion and Robotics divisions to achieve a leading market position in various industries including manufacturing systems and plant engineering (packaging machines, pumps/compressors, textile machines, digital printing machines, cranes and hoisting gear, equipment for semiconductor and electronics pro- duction, machines for producing and processing wood, glass, metal and stone) as well as lift, automotive, assembly and handling technology. The uses for MOTOMAN industrial robots include robot-based welding, laboratory automation, packaging and handling, as well as automated painting. Today, YASKAWA Europe GmbH, based in Eschborn near Frankfurt, operates the divisions Drives, Motion & Controls (automation, drives and control technology) and Robotics (industrial robots) – and services the markets of Europe, Africa, the Middle East and the region of the former Soviet Union. www.yaskawa.eu.com YASKAWA Europe GmbH Christopher Lamprecht, production planner at Ros and project manager for this system. YASKAWA Europe GmbH www.yaskawa.eu.com Websites