Annual Report
PERFECT TEST RELIABILITY AT THE SMARTPRODUCTION CENTER
KUKA uses the Ranger 3D vision camera from SICK in its future-oriented SmartProduction Center in Augsburg.
The pilot plant impresses visitors: standardized production cells with four robots each and rotary tables for components and tools, separated by aisles with automated guided vehicle systems. The AGVs transport the necessary components to the appropriate cells, industrial robots take over the handling and assemble the parts, e. g., for a car door. The standardized production cells are provided with basic product-neutral functionalities, but, controlled by KUKA’s artificial-intelligence-based SmartProduction_control software, intelligently equip themselves with product-specific tools according to the order and batch size. Thus, for example, vehicle doors and wheel arches can be produced on the same plant. KUKA implements the principle of matrix production here. It is a system whose states are fully monitored and transparent. During component feeding, precise placement of the components to be processed must be inspected: It is necessary to ensure that the components are provided in the right number, for the right model, in the right position, and in the necessary quality. The 3D Scanning System, with its highspeed camera from SICK, is responsible for this inspection.
The Ranger 3D vision camera scans the component and transfers the geometric information to a central computer via Ethernet. The point cloud of the current placement situation, generated in the integrated HALCON image-processing library, enables comparison with the specification. Data can optionally be uploaded into cloud solutions via the OPC UA communication protocol. “We have high standards regarding accuracy, resolution, and process reliability. We can meet these requirements with the Ranger 3D vision camera from SICK, even with the required large measurement volume of 4.20 m length, 2.20 m width, and one meter depth,” explains Martin Eberl, development engineer at KUKA. “On the one hand, large components have to be inspected. On the other hand, small deviations, such as a double sheet situation, must be detected if the operator lays two components on top of one another by mistake, for example. The camera must therefore be able to reliably detect a height difference of 0.8 mm.”
Based on these requirements, KUKA was looking for a camera with a height resolution of better than 0.2 mm and a measurement volume of about nine cubic meters. Ranger’s flexible concept enables KUKA to implement the optimum setup for the task regarding measurement range and volume.
The high-speed camera from SICK is in its element in the progressive pilot plant because it has the necessary high level of flexibility where individualized series, as an essential component of Industry 4.0, become feasible without restrictions within the framework of industrial mass production. Thanks to its unique MultiScan technology, a single camera can fulfill the tasks which would otherwise require several cameras. The costs for integration, maintenance, and accessories are reduced while the amount of dependable and qualified data for smart production increases.
»WE HAVE HIGH STANDARDS REGARDING ACCURACY, RESOLUTION, AND PROCESS RELIABILITY.
WE CAN MEET THESE REQUIREMENTS WITH THE RANGER 3D VISION CAMERA FROM SICK.«
MARTIN EBERL, DEVELOPMENT ENGINEER, KUKA