August 2021

38 n ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATED MANUFACTURING July/August 2021 www.drivesncontrols.com eight weeks by using digital twins to program the lines virtually while the cells were still being built. Another example of how industry responded to Covid-19 comes from Italy where Steriline, an equipment manufacturer based in Como, decided to use robots on liquid filling lines for vials – a task that, until recently, was not considered viable for robotic automation For almost 30 years, Steriline has been supplying machinery for pharmaceutical filling lines. For its latest generation, it wanted to take advantage of the benefits that robots can offer. One of the greatest challenges was that the robots would not only have to comply with ISO 5 Class cleanroom standards, but also to work in a permanent VHP (vapourised hydrogen peroxide) environment. Steriline is using three identical Stäubli TX60 Stericlean robots for this demanding application. The first six-axis robot picks the vials from the feed table and transfers them to the filling station. The second arm then takes the filled vials and moves them to a capping station, from where the third robot moves them to the final sealing station. The robots have made the filling process faster, more efficient and safer. To avoid adversely affecting the airflow, the robots are wall-mounted below the working level. Their grippers can handle different types of vials, making retooling of the machines much faster. And, because of the robots’ flexibility, the filling machines now need fewer format parts, making them easier to clean and disinfect. Simon Jenkins, Stäubli’s robotics director for the UK and Ireland, believes that these applications are representative of the benefits that robots and other automation technologies can bring to pharma, medical device and life sciences businesses. “The flexibility and high speed of robots, together with their ability to operate within demanding clean-room environments, mean that they fast becoming the preferred solution to a growing number of applications in these sectors,” he says. n Unusually, Steriline is using robots mounted below the working level to avoid affecting airflows around its vial-filling machines. Programming robots from inside Siemens controllers will save time and money The Italian robot-maker Comau has released a protocol that allows users of Siemens control systems to program its robots without leaving the Siemens ecosystem, thus saving time and cutting costs. The Next Generation Programming Platform (NGPP) works with Siemens’Simatic robot library to eliminate the need for dedicated robot programming. Comau estimates that the development could cut programming times by up to 30% and make integration up to 40% faster. It says that these figures have been confirmed in a project with a major automotive customer, which cut its configuration and programming costs by 30%. The Next Generation Programming Platform implements the Uniform Robotics Data Interface (URDI) communications standard to simplify robot programming. Users can program one or more Comau robots via the same Siemens equipment that they use for other applications and processes. Automation products and cells can be managed without needing robot programming expertise. Efficiency and productivity can be improved without tough learning curves, making it easier for users of Siemens PLCs to add robots to their installations. Potential applications include pick-and-place, boxing, palletising, logistics and end-of-line processes. It is possible to program Comau’s robots at the same time as Siemens virtual PLCs, allowing end-users and systems integrators to perfect their programming sequences, download the programs on-site, and start running robots immediately. The programming codes are re- usable. Comau says the NGPP makes integrating robots into existing lines or processes straightforward for companies of any size, working in any industry. They simply use the same Siemens PLCs that are already deployed for other applications. The necessary“intelligence” is transferred instantly from the Siemens library to the robot. “The successful integration of Comau’s robot controller with the Siemens ecosystem reflects the company’s on-going commitment to simplifying automation,”says Gaia Salvadore, Comau’s robotics and automation products segment leader. Tobias Fengel, marketing manager for robotics and electronics at Siemens DI adds that, together with robot-maker,“we are pioneers in offering the market the first seamless interface between industrial robotics and our Simatic robot library”. Comau is owned by Stellantis, the Dutch- based automotive giant that was formed earlier this year by the 50-50 merger of the Italian- American conglomerate Fiat Chrysler Automobiles with the French PSA Group. Comau says that its Next Generation Programming Platform will save time and cut costs for Siemens controls users