May 2024 Volume 6

AUTOMATION

handling billets that had to be placed axis vertical as well as axis horizontal, so we went through a tooling change. Finally, since we had to handle billets after bust, we had the owner save several half formed forgings for testing so we could prove this worked. Testing these many variables takes a full day and we had the robot heroes help out with the testing and job changeovers. This gave the robot heroes an opportunity to ask our programmers questions and get comfortable with the process prior to installation. Site Acceptance Test (SAT) Site acceptance testing (SAT) was a duplication of the FAT, except now we were working with hot parts. We decided to test a high running part first and tested operation with cold parts. Once we had things working with the cold parts, we heated the dies and fed in hot billets. We optimized the robot programs to minimize cycle time and smooth out the motion. Part number 1 was run for a whole shift to make sure our setup was robust before going to part number 2. We touched the corners of the box and tested the largest, smallest, lightest, and heaviest billets during the SAT. Once you have these programs developed, it is easier to copy and adjust to create a program that handles the in-between part numbers. Lessons Learned It is important to review lessons learned with the whole implemen tation team. Since heater robot #1 was the model for all other units, we wanted to get things as close to perfect as possible because stan dardization was a design goal. Some of the lessons learned: • Developing technology takes time and patience. Be resilient and stick to the project goals. • Rapid communication is essential-share everything with the team. Do not assume team members “should just know that.” • Incorporate an internet portal into the project design so that any technical issues can be diagnosed quickly without having to be on site. We used a combination of digital cameras and an internet portal to provide real-time access to the cell. • Assess progress periodically and do not be afraid to adjust the plan to take advantage of new technology. What Does the Future Look Like? We have come a long way in developing robust material handling applications in the forge shop, but there are more opportunities for improvements. The next decade will see more technically challenging projects being implemented. Some ideas to consider include: • The use of AMRs (autonomous mobile robots) to move goods around a forge shop. • Fully automatic billet sawing/shearing including integrated quality checks (bar dimensions, billet length, and weight). • Robotic bin picking will be used to pick new billets and reheats vs. vibratory or step feeders. • Forge presses will be fully automated-no humans with tongs or spray wands.

• Trim presses will be fully automated including handling the trimmed part and flash. • Vision based inspection devices will be deployed on the factory floor to perform hot part inspection real time. • Dies will be inspected and serviced much more efficiently using vision scanning technology that will feed information to robotic welders and grinders. • Secondary machining will be automated using robotic tech nology. • Crack detection will be automated. • Part marking (dot peening, video jet, laser engraving) will be automated to create human readable and bar code/2D matrix marks. • Finished parts will be automatically packed into dunnage/ship ping containers. Summary Automation in forge shops is here to stay. Even smaller companies are using robotics to improve their manufacturing. Using outside resources combined with your own engineering talent you can iden tify and implement successful automation projects. Plan appropri ately and remember to involve your team in the process to get buy in. The number of forgers who are using automation is about 50% based on a recent FIA survey. This adoption rate is increasing rapidly. The FIA is working diligently to attract government funding for pilot projects. More on this in future editions of this publication. Jim Morris Automation Consultant Automation for Manufacturing, LLC Email: jmorris@auto4mfg.com Phone: 607-481-4465 Web: www.Auto4mfg.com

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