May 2022 Volume 4

AUTOMATION

Fostering Success in Automation for the Forge By Mike O’Toole

Today’s labor challenges in the forging industry are driving a renewal of efforts to automate the forging process. It is critical to consider the entire automation cell design, programming, and engineering to find success in this automation endeavor. The experts at Forging Equipment Solutions have implemented robotic material handling and lubrication systems in applications ranging from 3-pound parts to parts over 200 pounds in weight. We have experience in vision systems and on multiple robotic supplier platforms. Let’s discuss in greater detail some of the motivations and pitfalls associated with automation. For a little preview, in the production environment, operators are happier when they don’t need to do math. Let the robot make the calculations. Finding a labor force that is skilled andmotivated tomanually handle parts in and out of presses or other forging machines is becoming one of the major bottlenecks on the factory floor. When the right people can be found, keeping the employees in the employ of your company is more challenging than ever. With rising wages across multiple industries, keeping your workforce in place is becoming an ever more costly proposition. Couple this workforce instability with the competitive price pressure on parts and it becomes difficult to continue to keep good employees with the trend of rising wages. Speed is always one of the first points to discuss when talking about automation. In some cases, especially with lighter parts, human labor can be faster on a parts per minute basis than robotic automation. However, there is the matter of how long a human operator can be expected to outpace the robot. Robots can run

Ergonomics and safety become an even more significant argument as parts become heavier. Robotic automation in the forge has been largely successful in terms of the equipment itself. Robot manufacturers have made great strides in making equipment that is durable and serviceable in the forge environment. While robots are more durable than ever, there are many more ingredients to designing a successful cell. Here are some key factors to consider: • Robust and flexible end of arm tool design • Protecting robots from heat, dirt, hot scale, and liquids with appropriate robot covering • Efficient routing of cables, hoses, pneumatic valves, sensors along the articulated robot • Cell design and layout to allow for access to the press for efficient tool changeover • Safety gating that allows easy access cell for maintenance • Multiple modes of operation to allow a human to operate a press for small runs or sample jobs (this includes the ability for a cell with multiple robots to work safely with a human working in place of one of the robots) Each of the items above could certainly warrant treatment individually. But here we promised to keep focused on what is important for the cell design to make finding a qualified operator a manageable and affordable task. So, let’s discuss some of the more intangible qualities that make a great automation installation.

consistently for longer periods of time when compared with human operators. This can mean that over the course of a shift, a robot operating consistently with a 5 second part cycle can produce more total parts than a human operator that can push parts through the press at a rate of 3 seconds per part for shorter intervals. In the end, it makes the job for the operator a more successful proposition when the operator is supervising the robot rather than physically moving parts through the press. While the robot can in some cases offer a slightly slower cycle time than the human operator, the overall operational efficiency is higher with the automation. There are also significant ergonomic and safety advantages with automation compared with human material handling.

Layout showing all possible drop positions for robot between min and max radii. Source: Forging Equipment Solutions

FIA MAGAZINE | MAY 2022 32