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16.04.2015 - Fachartikel - Produktionstechnik
"Plug & Automate" - Making automation automated
"Do-it-Yourself" principle is quickly becoming the highly effective norm in professional automation
With its "Plug & Automate" product line, ISRA VISION is now making it easier than ever to integrate industrial three dimensional machine vision (3D machine vision) into production lines. The standardized family of 3D sensor products offers a wide range of applications, combining the fields of 3D robot guidance, 3D in-line gauging technology and 3D shape measurement. And here's the kicker: No expert knowledge whatsoever is needed to utilize this innovative technology. Users now have what they need to automate production faster and easier on their own. In the past, this was generally considered much too demanding and complicated. Now, for every application, from 2D to 6D, there is a package of products available, complete with sensors and software, that is easy to apply. The jury for the "German Economy Innovation Award" was so impressed, it nominated ISRA VISION as a finalist.
In today's economy, globalization and fast-growing markets present an increasing number of challenges to companies that manufacture products for an international customer base. Companies have to deal with an increased demand for smaller batch sizes and more often are asked to supply customized products. The ability to line up products based on highly specific customer needs results in a host of different requirements in production planning. The demands are especially higher when flexibility is required. As opposed to series production, process automation is extremely difficult to realize for highly customized small series runs and requires a great deal of time and effort. Manufacturers are on the lookout for new solutions, which despite the change in circumstances still guarantees the highest level of efficiency and flexibility in the automation process.
ISRA's approach with its "Plug & Automate" line of products is based on the premise of flexibility by offering extremely short tooling times and easy setup at the same time. Users do not need any previous experience or specialist knowledge in the field of machine vision. They simply set up the applications that they need for their individual requirements quickly and easily themselves. The products liberate automation from their rigid restraints: Where in the past experts required a huge amount of time and effort to integrate new systems, companies are now able to do this on their own with the staff they have on hand and within the shortest amount of time. So, the "do-it-yourself" principle is quickly becoming the highly effective norm in professional automation.
ISRA is making "parametrization instead of programming" the guiding principle to highly efficient automation projects of the future. Perfectly synchronized packages not only include sensors with integrated illumination, but also software technology that make handling, installation and initial set-up as well as integration into existing systems and processes easier than ever. In this form, the "Plug & Automate" concept is unparalleled on the market and represents a quantum leap in technology: Quality assurance and automation simply automate themselves.
Leading edge applications such as three-dimensional object positioning with a single camera and special algorithms, as well as intelligent bin picking, make it possible for robots to easily remove parts that are delivered unsorted and yet in a highly flexible manner. For many years, this was one task that the industry was only able to perform to a very limited extent. Fully automated bin picking is now the prime example for the "ready-to-use" nature of sensor products, which help to create a finished application in just a matter of a few steps and within just a few short hours.
The solutions for demanding robot guidance and gauging tasks can be employed anywhere from the automotive industry to the electrical industry and even in smaller forging operations, where they will bring about a significant increase in flexibility and efficiency while decreasing production times. This adds up to incredible financial savings as well.
The "Plug & Automate" concept equates to high profits. The product series makes production highly flexible, increasing not only efficiency, but also productivity to the extreme. As a "lean production" module, production and assembly operations can save a significant amount of costs while optimizing their production processes at the same time - and they do so in just a few simple installation steps with the least amount of required space. Typically, the cost of the investment is made up within just a few short months.
Shorter tooling times, more flexible production and smaller batch sizes are important arguments for installing "Plug & Automate". In addition, the products also contribute immensely to sustainability, because they ensure a much more efficient utilization of materials, energy and resources.
Not one ISRA system was designed for the purpose of replacing or downsizing personnel. All solutions were developed with a view towards sustainability and social responsibility and are designed to make production tasks easier. For example, the bin picking application was designed to do away with the stresses of heavy and repetitive manual labor. In addition to eliminating needless mechanical shaking units used to separate parts, dirt and noise pollution also disappear from the workshop.
The "Plug & Automate" concept is the next logical step evolving from ISRA's expertise in 3D machine vision collected over the past 30 years. As an innovation leader, the company already has a high degree of expertise in the fields of 3D robot guidance, 3D in-line gauging technology and 3D shape measurement. The next step in the technical evolution was to improve the systems' ease-of-use. The result is the "Plug & Automate" sensor products, which not only operate intuitively, but is also automatically put into operation.
