Coating applications process a wide variety of metal parts which often change. Those parts need to be racked and deracked for the coating process and inspected to meet the quality requirements.
The goal of this project is to develop a concept for an automated racking and deracking system which is capable of handling a wide variety of articles within strict boundary conditions regarding cycle time, space, accuracy and ease of use.
The feasibility of the most critical points shall be proven.
Holzapfel Metallveredelung
Originally founded in 1949 by Willy Holzapfel, Holzapfel now is a modern services company that focuses on the automobile and processing industry, providing it with anti-corrosive and functional coating materials for medium and large series.
Contribution from RTOs
Fraunhofer IPA
Analyzation of the workpiece spectrum of Holzapfel and boundary conditions
Creating an overall concept for the automated handling system to meet the requirements and boundary conditions
Design and construction of a suitable gripping system
Feasibility study for handling parts with a bin picking system
Evaluating the most critical parts of the concept with a simplified test setup
DTI
Developing a prototypical contact localization software for the racking process
Sensor selection for generating suitable measurement data of the galvanization contacts
Performing tests to localize (partially deformed) contacts
Impact (expected)
We know the boundary conditions and have a concept of an automated racking and deracking system for racked coating applications.
With the results of the feasibility studies concerning the most critical parts of the concept, the possibilities of handling parts using a bin picking system and the contact localization software, a prototype robot cell can be build to test the system in an industrial environment.
If the prototype is working, it enables a higher degree of automatization in coating systems and therefore lower production costs in this branch of industry.
