Live Demo Overview Blog- FOBA Laser Marker + UR Cobot + Flexxbotics Solution 

During our recent event with  FOBA, Universal Robots and Flexxbotics we did a Live Demonstration of an Advanced Robotic Machine Tending set-up with all this equipment plus a Haas PLC (CNC simulator) and a Keyence Telecentric Measurement System.

Here’s a Video of the Demonstration running where I’m narrating to explain what’s going on at each step. I’ve included details below as well (see Complete Demo Description).

Watch the video here https://flexxboticsinc.com/live-demo-foba

You can also click here to download all the presentation slides from the event as well

Complete Demo Description

OVERVIEW

• Cellularized Setup Equipment
  • • UR10 – Universal Robot
    • Haas CNC Controller Simulator
    • Keyence Telecentric Inspection Device
    • FOBA M Series Laser Marker
    • Flexxbotics solution machine interface edge device
• Simulating the automation of a part through each of its processes so it enters as raw material and completes as a finished laser marked part
• Flexxbotics Software Solution
  • • Enabling interoperability between all the machines with each other and the robot
    • Facilitating the information flow for parts and order setup
    • Managing all communications between the robot, CNC, Inspection, and Laser
    • Providing advanced functionality such as Autonomous Process Control

OPERATOR SETUP

• Process kicks off in Flexxbotics software by Barcode scanning the traveler or manually selecting a part number and entering the work order information
• Flexxbotics solution provides the Part SKU Management for the robot and all the machines
  • • Operator reviews the part, operation, and specifies the work order to be run
    • Flexxbotics then pulls the part and order information from its database and distributes it to the robot to be used during runtime, this is an automated process or can be preformed manually 
    • Information distributed: lot numbers, dimensions, quantities and each robot and machines’ programs that need to be executed for the parts, work order, or any other parameters about the cell
• Part of the HMI includes Simple, Standardized “Big Button” Operator Controls (i.e. just a few big buttons on the screen)
• The buttons start the robot, set SKU’s, make runtime changes
• Buttons are customizable with the ability to control a variety elements of the cell utilizing Flexxbotics communications

Universal Robot

• UR10 cobot arm with built in safety via Power and Force Limiting technology which allows for a more open and collaborative workcell layout
• Flexxbotics is using the robot controller and UR’s Polyscope operating system to control the sequence of events
• Flexxbotics software is directly tied to the robot so the robot is equipped with all information provided from the Flexxbotics setup
• The robot is utilizing the Flexxbotics software to communicate and coordinate with the various machines
• Flexxbotics software is able to capture all events coming from the robot including statuses from the robot and all the machines, as well as, counts and variables

In/Out Feed

• Customized pallet infeed w/ tilted part presentation for consistent robot pick-up / return, other options available as well depending on part type, size, weight and other factors
• Can be for raw stock or complex part geometries
• Robot uses a pallet routine to sequence through parts
• Flexxbotics software tracks pallet progress and knows when to change to next pallet autonomously
• Added benefit is multi-order staging to increase robot unattended time

Gripping

• Robotiq Dual 2F-140 Electric Grippers
• Variable stroke length provides flexibility
• I/O feedback allows Flexxbotics solution to check for grip success and make adjustments if needed

Haas PLC Controller CNC Simulator

• Part gets loaded into Schunk Pneumatic Vises w/ Custom Soft Jaws actuated by the Flexxbotics software
• Flexxbotics software then loads the program and writes any macros required for run-time
• Flexxbotics starts the cycle and begins monitoring the machine state for end cycle completion or any unforeseen CNC alarms

• Telecentric optical measurement of the width of the internal cuts of the part
• This can be a pre- and/or post- inspection of the parts
• Flexxbotics software reads measurement values and compares them to the part’s Tolerance and Control Limits specs saved in Flexxbotics
• This comparison calculation is used to sort pass / fail parts, as well as, produce SPC values used by the Flexxbotics software for autonomous process control (see further explanation in section below)
• Other automated inspection technologies can also be use such as probes, vision, CMMs and others
• In-line inspection is optional, yet important for ‘lights out’ operation of a cell to ensure parts are being made to spec

FOBA Laser Marker

• Flexxbotics loads the appropriate job into memory on the Laser Marking machine utilizing the part(s) specified during Operator Setup
• Flexxbotics then uses the order data from the setup process to sequentially set the lot id and serial number via a variable in the laser program
• Flexxbotics then closed the FOBA door and starts the FOBA laser program which utilizes the job information that was also sent over from Flexxbotics
• With Flexxbotics managing both the FOBA<>UR’s operations multi-order staging is achievable
  • • Running sequential orders with different parts requires new FOBA jobs along with variable changes which Flexxbotics enables
    • The entire process is automated through Flexxbotics to the UR Cobot and the FOBA system without operator intervention
• Flexxbotics also ties in with FOBA’s Intelligent Mark Position (IMP) feature utilizing the internal camera to perform edge detection of the part as a reference point for accurate placement location prior to performing the marking
  • • Flexxbotics reads the “confidence level” from IMP
    • And if confidence level is outside the established threshold for the part (generally 85% or above) Flexxbotics will detect and instruct the robot to re-place the part
    • This accuracy detection occurs before the mark is even made assuring autonomous defect avoidance
    • This is also beneficial when changeover requires multi-use fixturing or the robot to hold the parts
• This level of coordinated operation between the FOBA and the UR cobot is only possible (without man years of custom coding) with Flexxbotics due to our patent-pending FlexxCORE technology which securely connects robots+machines for interoperability

PART CHANGEOVER

• A new part is run by scanning another barcode or pushing a button on the Flexxbotics software screen
• Operator completes job and uses either traveler barcode or does part number selection
• All programs and parameters for the new part get loaded and distributed by Flexxbotics
• Now, the Robot knows how to run the next part and the programs for the FOBA, the Haas and the Keyence are all synchronized as well
• Changeover can also be done by Flexxbotics automatically changing to the next part using multi-part staging in the same infeed 

• APC is the ability to make production processing corrections or adjustments without human intervention / autonomously
• Using inspection results Flexxbotics APC makes corrections to the Haas PLC’s g-code based on data from:
  • • Critical characteristic and tolerance measurement data from the interior width of each part
    • Utilizing Statistical Process Control Limits in real-time to identify trends in results
    • Determining an offset to automatically compensate the machine for a tool’s wear by writing a macro
    • Utilize inspection feedback to ensure the laser mark position is consistent
    • Benefits include assuring high yields in ‘lights out’ operations where operators are not present to make corrections

• Other use cases of autonomous process control include the Flexxbotics Intelligent Recovery capability for recovery from non-safety related robot stops
  • • Automatic pick-and-place fault recovery
    • Error or collision stop auto-recovery

EVENT TRACKING & ESCALATION

• Data are tracked on all events that happen during automated operation for all machines and robots connected to Flexxbotics
  • • This digital thread is critical for high compliance industries like medical device, aerospace, defense, and automotive as it provides a robot audit and event log for all the machines in the workcell
    • It is especially important for lights out environments
• Flexxbotics detects and can escalate an issue if one occurs
• Event tracking also feeds Flexxbotics Intelligent Recovery which auto-corrects from an anomaly if detected through the event stream
• Crucial to keeping production running at a high utilization

ROBOT CONTROL CENTER

• Two key aspects critical to the scalability of robotics across the smart factory are visibility and actionable information
• Flexxbotics software provides control room dashboards for all robots, machines and inspection equipment operating simultaneously across the smart factory or in multi-factory scenarios
  • • Plant executives, managers and operators with permissions can see robotic production as it occurs in factories around the world from phones and tablets
    • Manage all parts and jobs that the robot are configured to run
    • See dashboards with real-time status and trend data on output and quality metrics
    • Get downtime alerts and escalations in either text, email or both with clickable links to go straight to the issue

If you have any questions about the items covered in this demo or other types of installations, contact us