News

Description: 

The system consists of three production lines, each of which comprises three robots. Prior to dispatch, the basic configuration, the spatial alignment and the positioning of the robots were set and tested by the machine builder on site in the factory commissioning department. The software configurations were to be applied to all three lines. However, there was no separate factory commissioning for line 2 and line 3. The entire system was dismantled and shipped to America. Commissioning at the end customer was planned for 3 months later. During this time, the PLC program and the robot program were to be optimised and refined. All changes and adjustments were tested in advance using the digital twin. The current robot programme from the factory commissioning was used in the simulation of the robots, which simulated the entire system in the Mechatronics Concept Designer. The PLC was available in the hardware-in-the-loop network and the robots were simulated using the Virtual Robot Controller (VRC). 

Challenge: 

When the digital machine was started up, it turned out that all the robots were moving at 180 degrees to the mechanics. This was due to a difference between the mechanical setup during factory commissioning and the final design. This led to incorrect positions in all 12 prepared robot programmes. These had to be revised before commissioning at the end customer. As this error was 

recognised during the simulation, the robot programmer had enough time to make the corrections. The correction work took a total of 2 weeks. 

Solution: 

By using our simulation, a delay in commissioning of 2 weeks was avoided, which helped to meet the production schedules. In addition, unwanted machine behaviour was avoided, preventing damage in the real world. The simulation proved to be a crucial tool in identifying and resolving potential issues prior to commissioning and helped to ensure a smooth start of the production line. 

Conclusion: 

This use case shows how the use of simulation and a digital twin helped to identify problems with the positioning of the robots and rectify them before commissioning. This resulted in time and cost savings as well as the avoidance of potential damage. The simulation proved to be a crucial tool for the successful commissioning of the system at the end customer. 

For more information, meet us at the SPS trade fair in Nuremberg: 

htps://sps.mesago.com/nuernberg/de.html