Software solutions supplier Shafi, Inc recently was tasked with creating a first-of-its-kind AutoRacking solution for a major automotive manufacturer in Michigan. AutoRacking solutions involve replacing the manual handling of heavy automotive parts, such as truck beds or hood inners, with the use of robots. PIAB''s Duraflex suction cups, designed to grip uneven or oddly shaped surfaces, were an integral part of the solution.
An increasingly competitive environment in the automotive industry has prompted a high demand from top manufacturers to come up with the most cost-efficient engineering processes. Benefiting from the robotic automation trend, Michigan-based Shafi, Inc specializes in 2D/3D vision guidance and vision inspection systems. Requests for 3D vision guided robotic (VGR) solutions typically come from manufacturers seeking to automate material handling applications.
Designing Under Pressure
Adil Shafi, president and founder, knew time was of the essence as his team set out to design a 3D solution capable of accommodating a variety of car parts with multiple contours, concave surfaces, and burred edges. To add to the pressure, the automotive manufacturer had a daily commitment of thousands of parts that needed to be shipped to customer plants. It was crucial that the new solution be implemented in a short window of time without jeopardizing production volumes.
After a comprehensive analysis to identify how best to solve the customer''s existing engineering bottlenecks, Shafi put together a design that could detect empty racks or racks of mismatched product models, as well as the depth of each part within the rack. The solution also allowed for compensation for parts hanging at different angles, or oscillating in the air due to flexible rack design, which does not allow parts to be damaged by touching the rack''s floor during transportation.
To complete the complicated project, Shafi consulted several of the industry''s most experienced robotic suppliers. The core of the solution relied on Shafi''s advanced software programming combined with hardware from Cognex, a supplier of machine vision systems. A redundant third camera was included for increased reliability, along with easy wizards to calibrate vision of the robots.
EOAT: The Robot''s Hand
But Shafi also needed to come up with the proper end-of-arm tooling (EOAT). Drawing from past experience, he understood that EOAT was critical, though often overlooked: this small but crucial element accounts for the robot''s "hand," which uses vacuum to lift and transport the moving part.
"A robot is only as effective as its end-of-arm tooling," said Shafi. "This AutoRacking solution, in particular, needed to rely on flexible tooling because the robot needs to adapt to constant changes in size, which occur each time the vehicle model or car part changes."
Shafi knew that if the robot arm missed its grip on an object, it would cause the entire system to shut down, ceasing production while the tooling was repaired; in an even worse case scenario, the wrong tooling could cause the robot to drop the object, putting employees on the plant floor in imminent physical danger.
For assistance with the EOAT portion of his robotic solution, Shafi turned to Mike Brotz, territory manager at PIAB, a global manufacturer of industrial vacuum products. A major factor in choosing PIAB was the durability of its suction cups.
"PIAB''s Duraflex suction cups are designed to grip uneven or oddly-shaped surfaces, ensuring safe and stable lifting," said Shafi. "They are particularly good for handling nonporous automotive parts."
AutoRacking System Racks Up Cost Savings
Shafi''s AutoRacking solution used 6 PIAB suction cups per robot and also included a PIAB Modular Automated Tooling unit, which was attached to a multistage ejector vacuum pump mounted to a VacTrap check valve. Part of PIAB''s Modular Automation Tooling (PMAT) technology, the VacTrap is a vacuum innovation that "traps" vacuum pressure for an indefinite period of time, preventing the handled part from dropping in case of system interruption.
The VacTrap features PIAB''s Coax®, a patented multiejector technology, which integrates the internal components of a multistage vacuum pump into a vacuum cartridge. The Coax technology results in a smaller, more efficient, more reliable, and highly flexible technology that allows the design of a modular system.
Once the EOAT was completed, the new AutoRacking system was developed and installed at the manufacturing plant. Since its inception, Shafi''s solution has been running continuously without any problems and new orders have been issued for similar solutions at other automotive plants for the same manufacturer. "The customer realized a 50% cost savings after just six months," said Shafi.
He and his team appreciate PIAB''s vacuum technology as a key part of the new AutoRacking solution. "It''s quite a challenge coming up with solutions for handling so many shapes and sizes," concludes Shafi. "Having the flexibility of PIAB''s modular automated tooling as part of our solutions has made it much easier for us to design and advise systems integrators on AutoRacking solutions that rise to the challenge and handle the toughest applications."