This past holiday weekend we converted a manual bolt tightener process into a full-auto ready station. This unit in particular was unique in that we had to reverse engineer the pneumatic circuit from a non-working condition, in addition to the controls and safety improvements. The end goal was a station that can automatically secure 10 bolts to the top of an engine. A pallet lift and locate was installed, and from there multiple modifications were required.
The scope of work included adding a dedicated central air line to feed into a Ross safe air dump valve for E-stop conditions. In its original state, all pneumatic valves and I/O for controlling the pneumatic slide was ran back to an Atlas Copco Power Mac controller. But the customer desired full PLC access and control of these signals. So we relocated and rerouted the I/O of the limit switches, proximity sensors, and solenoids to an SMC manifold with attachable remote I/O.
With the station being converted to automatic functionality, safe-guarding was put in place through addition of physical barriers of both wire mesh and solid fencing.
An operator interface panel featuring a 15" Omron NA HMI was added for machine control and display. Modifications to the existing operator platform were required to mount the control box at a location both convenient and ergonomic for the line associates.
Safety is always paramount in every system we design and implement, even improvements to existing machinery and equipment. Contact us to safely bring your existing equipment back into production with confidence and peace of mind.
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