AsseMec120_MAGGIU_2017

APPLICAZIONI
fully integrated manner, ensuring full
traceability of the final product.
“We are seeing a perfect example
of turnkey system”, explains Mr
Riboni. “We start with the individual
disassembled items: bottle, wiper,
brush, product for filling the bottle, and
we get to the box ready for shipping.
The introduction of Mitsubishi Electric
Scara robots, which fully meet our
requirements in terms of performance,
speed and accuracy, has enabled
us to considerably simplify handling
operations”.
Mitsubishi Electric
ha fornito a IDM
Automation anche
la componentistica
elettromeccanica.
Mitsubishi Electric
has also supplied
IDM Automation the
electromechanical
components.
communication actions”.
“The need to change format and work on small
batches requires machine manufacturers to search
for maximum flexibility, without affecting accuracy
and productivity”, adds Marco Filippis, Product
Manager Robot of the Factory Automation division
at Mitsubishi Electric. “In addition to a range of
products - from robots to motion control, to cycle
supervision - that meet the various automation
sides, Mitsubishi Electric is a truly global partner,
able to provide support and technical assistance
not only in Italy, but wherever the machines are
installed”.
Not only robots: the platform
is actually complete
The tangible proof of this collaboration is the MF-
301 automatic bottles filling machine developed by
IDM Automation for an important customer in the
cosmetics industry. The machine, in its full version
as labeling and packaging machine, was the
protagonist of the Cosmoprof trade fair in Bologna,
while, in a demo version, it will be on display at
Know-how 4.0 at the next SPS IPC Drives in Parma.
The MF-301, equipped with two Mitsubishi
Electric Scara robots (RH-6FH), which ensure the
enslavement in bottles filling for pick & place
operations, is designed for filling and closing
plastic bottles and includes presence control
and unloading of rejected bottles. Thanks to the
addition of autoloaders, the line also provides
for the automatic loading of bottles and brushes,
which is usually manual in the classic applications.
Using the Mitsubishi Electric iQ-Platform with
multi-CPUs concept enables the management
of logics, motion, robots and display system in a
How the system works
The system work cycle, developed
by IDM Automation, is easily explained. The first
robot picks up the bottle with a suction cup and
inserts it into the jaws on one of the rotary tables
placed in the central body of the machine. At
this stage, with a dosing system, the bottle is filled
and moves into a weighing station for control.
If the weight is correct, the brush is inserted and
screwed, and then the second Scara picks up the
bottle and deposits it on the belt that leads to the
labeller, to the packaging and boxing stations.
IDM Automation has developed the first part of the
system, integrating the latest stations in the system.
“This system shows the potential applications of
industry 4.0”, adds Mr Filippis. “The iQ Platform, via
an MES module, makes it possible to collect and
manage all the data generated by the machine
covering factors such as productivity or predictive
maintenance, and send them in a company’s IT
system, to the cloud or a database. All thanks to
the modularity of the automation platform. The
robot, in short, should not be considered as a mere
handling element, nor motion systems only as the
“muscles” of the system: they are all key elements
of a comprehensive solution that integrates aspects
of primary importance: from safety to logics, to the
collection of production data”.
Innovation experts
It is no coincidence that these are just some of the
cornerstones of the “revolution 4.0”. A concept
that, as confirmed by the IDM Automation’s CEO,
is persuading a niche sector such as machinery
for the cosmetics industry. “Together with an
increasing process automation, the need to collect
and manage data for preventive maintenance
is becoming topical, and we, as machine
74 MAGGIO-GIUGNO 2017 & meccatronica 120