Page 18 - Machines+Italia+Vol+XIV+2022+Coping+with+the+Certainty+of+Uncertain+Times

SMART MANUFACTURING
exchange input and output information with the company PCs in order to analyze machine status, create system logbooks, and obtain overall equipment efficiency. Plus the HMI itself is simplified and guaranteed by touch-screen operator panels that can incorporate— in addition to the press functions—all the data and control pages of the selected automation.
For C.O.S.M.A.P. Srl, (Saccolongo, Italy, https://cosmapsrl.it), the greatest challenge is balancing the disparate cycle times of polishing and buffing complex forms, including faucets, handles, cookware, watches, eyewear, precision mechanics, and medical tools. As a manufacturer of robotic cells and CNC index rotary table machines, C.O.S.M.A.P. works to identify the best combination of technology to meet the customer’s needs for processing a family of parts, which often requires building in flexibility.
Arun Paul, process engineer, said “the common approach in this application sector is to use a six-axis robotic cell. One of the key solu- tions in the field of metal polishing and buffing that only C.O.S.M.A.P.
R.C.N. SOLUTIONS’ RD CLEAN CONCEPT produces clean edges at the end of the cycle without needing to remove the excess manually with a blade or a thermo-cutter
can offer is a CNC index rotary table with an 8-axis working unit, ensuring the premium surface finish that customers require.”
The heart of the machine is the U-axis, or so called “U-smart-axis,” which is responsible for the automatic positioning of the polishing and buffing tool with a high degree of sensitivity. As Paul put it, “the U-axis is constantly in communication with the PLC and gives feedback at every moment in every interpolation, keeping the pressure controlled and precise.” The U-axis also minimizes tool consumption.
C.O.S.M.A.P. always considers a customer’s part shapes, required production capacity, and batch size when designing a system. And their machines allow for the processing of different types of materials or shapes in the same system, in part by providing the possibility to use different polishing belts and buffing wheels. On this subject, Paul added, “the flexibility to set up a CNC rotary table machine or robotic
cell allows us to achieve the best performance using a flap wheel for the polishing of stainless steel cookware, or perhaps a soft natural cotton for buffing a faucet body. The key point is to select the exact parameters that allow the customer to manage processes in such a way that throughput is optimized and no device is ever idle.”
One recent project for a faucet manufacturer in the U.S. called for four robots, each with two polishing units, a CNC index rotary table with a half dozen six-axis CNC working units, and seven rotary table stations. “The system treats brass faucets,” highlighted Paul. “The whole process is automatic. Each robot performs one of four phases on the piece, transferring the part from one to the next. The fourth robot places the faucet on the conveyor. At that point, the operator has to move the piece by hand to the rotary table (the only manual part of the process). That starts the buffing process, which uses a CNC index rotary table with six working units with different types of resinated and regular cotton wheels.” Thanks to these capabilities, C.O.S.M.A.P., is able to count premier companies such as Corbin Russwin and SARGENT Manufacturing, part of the Assa Abloy group, among its U.S. customer base.
Glass Act
Members of GIMAV, the Italian Association of Glass-Processing Machinery and Accessory Suppliers (www. gimav.it), have also joined the smart manufacturing revolution. For example, R.C.N. SOLUTIONS Srl (Albairate, Italy, https://www.rcnsolutions.it/en/ home-english/), a manufacturer of glass laminating, bending, and chemical tempering furnaces, offers a dedicated “Easy Connect Application” that gives customers the ability to check the production process on a smartphone, tablet or PC, modify the process details independently, receive process and alarm notifications, and save historical data to the cloud for trend analysis.
RCN has also introduced a new system for cleaning edges after lamination. Roberta Cometti, in charge of RCN’s international busi- ness relationships, explained that the laminating interlayer often squeezes out from the glass edges during the lamination process. But the company’s “RD CLEAN CONCEPT” produces clean edges at the end of the cycle without needing to remove the excess manually with a blade or a thermo-cutter. It’s a patent-pending system unique to RCN, and has already been successfully tested. Cometti said the technology will save both time and labor, while improving operator safety.
Among other Industry 4.0 initiatives, Cugher Glass Srl, (Novate Milanese, Italy, https://www.cugher.com), introduced the use of Smart Glass (i.e., augmented reality eyeglasses) to its remote service portfolio. Smart glasses add information, such as instructions from a repair manual, alongside what the wearer sees. The glasses allow the operator to work freely and to share their view with a remote technician in real-time while checking problems with the machinery, or during machine installation and testing.
The revolution continues...
18 Volume XIV | www.machinesitalia.org