May 2023 Volume 5

AUTOMATION

Job Changes Job changes should be a thing of beauty, not an event the production team dreads. The first step is to determine responsibilities and then design the controls to support all assigned parties. Involving the production team members to review the screens will pay big dividends in getting screen layout and functionality to be user friendly. For example, on a recent project the customer wanted the operator to do the changeover for a forge tending robot. This involved changing over the EOAT, setting up a furnace guide, adjusting rails on a transfer conveyor, and swapping out bins. The cell programmer created a “job change screen” which included asking the operator to identify himself using a badge reader. The screen included step by step instructions on how to swap out the EOAT fingers. The HMI

screen displayed images of the fingers. Part of the job change process included a secondary screen that displayed recipe information for the job-images of the billet with dimensions, forging temperature, and images of the “as-forged” platter. Another screen was developed for the die setup person. This screen displayed die number, orientation in the press window, direction of flow, and setup datum features. The die pre-heat temperature was listed. The job change screens included a list of questions to confirm each step was properly completed. Before the automation could be released to produce, the cell supervisor had to sign off via badge reader on quality checks. These user-friendly HMI screens streamlined the changeover process resulting in an improved OEE for the forge line.

Job change screen with EOAT and part recipe information.

FIA MAGAZINE | MAY 2023 44