Drives & Controls May 2022

TECHNOLOGY n 25 www.drivesncontrols.com May 2022 ABB HAS ANNOUNCED two new families of large industrial robots for complex manufacturing applications such as electric vehicle manufacturing, foundries, forging, rubber, plastics and metal fabrication. The IRB 5710 and 5720 robots are designed to boost productivity, performance and uptime by delivering enhanced speed, accuracy, flexibility, and a more robust design with integrated cabling. Available in eight variants, the robots offer payloads from 70– 180kg and reaches from 2.3–3m. They are suitable for tasks such as material-handling, machine tending and assembly, as well as EV-specific operations such as battery module picking and placing. They can also be used for plastic moulding, metal casting, cleaning and spraying applications. More applications, including welding, cutting and dispensing, will be released during 2023. The IRB 5710 covers payloads from 70–110kg and reaches from 2.3–2.7m, while the IRB 5720 spans 90–180kg and 2.6–3m. “These new robots accelerate ABB’s continuing expansion into the rapidly growing EV market, meeting customer demand for robust units with the speed, path accuracy and dexterity to handle complex EV battery assembly duties,” says Joerg Reger, managing director of ABB Robotics’ automotive business. “The switch from ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicles to EVs especially is driving increased demand for fast, adaptable production lines. EV designs can often be highly complex, and components such as batteries and semiconductor modules can be very heavy or extremely fragile. These demands call for solutions that can offer maximum precision and repeatability to avoid errors in production.” Both robot families are powered by ABB’s new OmniCore V250XT controller which allows them to offer “class-leading” speed and accuracy, improving production capacities and shortening manufacturing times. ABB promises position repeatabilities of 0.04-0.05mm, path repeatabilities of 0.1-0.14mm and path accuracies of 1-1.2mm. Large robots target EV production and other complex operations ABB’s new heavy-duty robots are aimed at demanding applications such as moving battery packs in electric vehicle production AGROUPOF European technology companies including Airbus, the pharmaceuticals giant Roche and Capgemini Engineering, have joined forces to develop and industrialise a digital ecosystem for industrial and manufacturing environments. The Vims (Virtual IoT Manufacturing System) will deliver detailed visualisations of manufacturing processes from single production lines to complete factories. The project, which is being developed from the ground up, is using digital twins fed from an IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things) platform that collects data from sensors as well as hardware such as PLCs, and software systems such as Scada and ERP. This is combined with: n AI (artificial intelligence) to create smart instructions to optimise the data collection; and n AR (augmented reality) to visualise processes on assembly lines or across factories. The ultimate goal is to create a digital twin technology that visualises processes and operations across the shop floor, giving operators, engineers, and managers full control of production lines and factories. The project is focussing on three applications: n real-time monitoring with predictive calibration and performance; n virtual training; and n operator assistance. The technology is being tested in an Airbus factory in Spain, and Roche pharmaceutical plants in Germany and Switzerland. The Vims project, which has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 innovation programme, is being led by a Portuguese industrial AR specialist called Glartek. The company, founded in 2017, combines AR and the IoT technologies to bring visibility, optimisation and reassurance to industrial operations. A fourth member of the consortium is the IT consultancy SCL. Process cables can be routed through the robot’s upper arm and along the wrist, eliminating swinging cables, and protecting them against heat and collisions – a common cause of robot maintenance issues – potentially cutting downtime and maintenance costs and extending the robots’ service lives by several years. Software is available for programming and simulating cable movements. The robots offer multiple mounting possibilities including floor, angled, inverted and semi-shelf options. https://new.abb.com/products/robotics/industrial-robots Airbus and Roche join digital twin project for industry The Vims project aims to develop and industrialise an integrated digital ecosystem for industrial and manufacturing uses.