Festo recently assisted with the upgrade of production facilities for a local manufacturer of lead-acid motor vehicle batteries. The manufacturer runs a production line where vehicle and truck batteries are assembled and was using a pneumatic solution to fill the batteries and evacuate excess acid – this was replaced with a new electric drive solution.
“The customer was looking to upgrade for a number of reasons,” explains Festo sales engineer, Danny Waters. “The old solution consisted of multi-position DNC cylinders that had to be set up mechanically for every variant change, resulting in lengthy changeover times between product variants. Additionally, the customer wanted to be able to save, select and maintain all variant specific settings as an HMI function in order to reduce the margin for input errors.”
Change facilitates speed and accuracy
It was decided to move from pneumatic to electric actuators to avoid the need for mechanical set-up and the associated delays. The DNCE mechanical axis which was chosen as the mechanical interfaces is largely compatible with the standard cylinder DNC, while offering the faster, more accurate movement of the electric drives. Furthermore, a range of specially adapted complete solutions is available for the electric cylinder DNCE and the motors/motor units.
Motion to the system is provided by the combination of the compact CMMS motor controller and servo motor EMMS. The CMMS has integrated safety functions such as protection against unexpected start-up, shorter response times in the event of an error and a faster restart as the intermediate circuit remains charged. It also offers integrated EMC filters and an integrated brake chopper. Offering a choice of feedback systems, the EMMS is a dynamic brushless, permanently excited synchronous servo motor. It can be used with single or three-phase motor controllers, torque optimised or speed-optimised.
Smooth integration
Adding to Festo’s complete solution, the modern compact programmable controller CECC provided a smooth integration with the existing control system as the mini-controller features IO-Link, CANopen and a USB interface. “The CECC is a cost-effective PLC that is powerful enough to manage tasks from basic automation through to complex applications,” elaborates Waters.
Providing the interface between the system and operator, the Festo HMI CDPX offers advanced graphics and animations, a symbol gallery and remote access and control via an Ethernet interface. It also offers the ability to set, save and backup recipes containing specific settings. This modern touch technology makes control extremely easy for the operator.
In addition to the project’s technical requirements, the customer also wanted the upgrade to be competitively priced and completed within a short space of time. “Through our local office we were able to supply, install and programme the machine within two weeks, while ensuring commissioning and after-sales support,” explains Waters. “The new solution allows for quick changeover times and recipe selection via the easy-to-use HMI, saving time, reducing wear and freeing up valuable resources for the customer.”
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