COMPLEXITIES AND VIRTUES OF SYNCHRONISM IN INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION

SINCCRONISMO AUTOMATIZACIÓN GURPEA
17-04-2024

Industrial automation has become a fundamental pillar for increasing efficiency, improving quality and reducing costs in manufacturing processes. Within this context, synchronism enables the automation of moving object operations and therefore plays a crucial role. 

In industrial automation, synchronism refers to the precise coordination of moving components within a machine or line to perform processes or operations. In production lines that involve operations on moving elements, synchronization is essential, making it possible to work on the moving element as if it were static and thus accurately perform actions such as part placement, bolting, primer applications, machine vision inspections, etc. 

We will now explore its importance, the difficulties involved and the advantages it offers.

 

  • Difficulties in implementing a synchronism solution.


Achieving perfect synchronism in industrial automation can be a challenge due to several difficulties, among them: 

1. Complexity of operations: complex operations requiring accuracy are performed on modern production lines. When the mobility of the object to be worked on is added to the equation, precision becomes a major challenge, requiring meticulous mechanical assembly and measurements to correct the working position and coordinate it with that of the object to be manipulated.

2. Flexibility: Flexibility in production lines is essential to manufacture different part models and optimize processes and costs. This variable increases the complexity of the synchronization of the installation and makes it necessary to integrate movements in the machine elements to adapt it to the different geometries.

3. Integration of the operations to be performed: the operations to be automated in the industry are very diverse: placing a weather strip, a car body, performing an artificial vision inspection, screwing the wheel on a vehicle, avoiding food waste in unexpected line stops... Different processes with heterogeneous requirements that require a customized configuration for an accurate tracking, and subsequent handling, of the moving element.

4. Unattended operation: running automation projects that operate in a continuous process without supervision and synchronization is not easy either. The system must be able to continue working even if the ideal conditions are not met. Therefore, it requires a detailed approach to all the casuistry and a mechanics that adapts to any of the assumptions, avoiding production line stops and alerting of the operations that could not be carried out.

 

  • Success story: synchronism and tracking in the installation of vehicle wheels.
     

And this is where the magic of automation comes into play and allows us to imagine and create a production process in which all factors come together in unison on a moving assembly line.

This is the case of the wheel installation project that we successfully developed for the Volkswagen Group, in which numerous operations are integrated in the same station, adapting to different vehicle models on the moving production line and meeting cycle times. 

In this synchronism and tracking solution, the accumulation of technologies stands out, including 3D artificial vision, which calculates the position and angle of the wheel hub holes in order to place and screw it in motion, allowing a totally accurate accompaniment to the vehicle during its movement along the assembly line.

 

Thus, we managed to overcome the various difficulties posed by the synchronism in this project as:


- The precision and centering of the moving wheel that presents a different orientation in each case. 
- The position of the wheel, which has different heights depending on the suspension of the vehicle model being assembled (with a deviation of one millimeter it would not be possible to screw the wheel).
- The difference of angles between the front and rear wheels produced by the movement of the line. 
     (The robots place the wheel in a different position and angle on each vehicle).
- The adaptation to the different equipment of the different vehicle models manufactured on the same line. 
- The necessary unison action of all the robots, which must enter at the same time to place the wheel, in order to avoid the body swaying and to allow a correct screwing.

SINCRONISMO AUTOMOCION

Instalacion de ruedas Gurpea

 Render instalación de ruedas Gurpea

 

 

 

Sincronismo sector alimentación

Image of synchronism project for the food sector, developed by Gurpea.

 

  • Advantages of synchronism in industrial automation.
     

Despite the inherent difficulties, synchronism is essential in industrial automation and in Gurpea we are clear about the key benefits that this type of solutions bring both to our customers and to us as a company:


1. Performance optimization: synchronization in continuous production lines allows maximizing productivity by reducing downtime, minimizing bottlenecks and avoiding complete shutdown or accumulation systems, without giving up the established cycle times/speed.

2. Product quality: The execution of each process at the right time, within the production line and in the right conditions, contributes to maintain high quality standards in the manufactured products.

 

3. Flexibility: An installation with motion synchronization that adapts to different models to be produced offers greater flexibility in the configuration and adaptation of the production line to meet changes in market demand, product characteristics and even production phases.

4. Safety: synchronous automation of operations eliminates the need for operators to work in awkward, repetitive or dangerous positions, helping to reduce the risk of occupational accidents and ensuring a safer working environment for employees.

5. Improved competitiveness: in addition, synchronization offers a significant competitive advantage by enabling faster, more efficient and higher quality production.

6. Universal application: Synchronization is a universal solution applicable to any automated production process in any sector, adapting to diverse casuistry and complementary processes such as welding and weatherstripping in the automotive industry, and product packaging in sectors such as food and pharmaceuticals.