Kuka is the world’s leading player in the development and construction of robotics and automation solutions. The company’s developments are also helping to drive forward the digital revolution taking place in the world of manufacturing. Working in association with Siemens company, Flender, Kuka has implemented a new kind of drive for sliding/tilting table trimming presses, which are used for deburring castings. The new electromechanical alternative to the previous hydraulically powered swivel motor offers users the benefit of up to 30% lower cycle times, improved dynamic response, lower component wear and reduced maintenance costs and times.
The new solution, which was developed by Siemens subsidiary, Flender in association with Kuka is an alternative to the swivel motors customary in the press sector and is based on a planetary gear motor. As Steffen Günther, Kuka vice president for casting solutions EMEA explains: “One of the reasons why coordination of the entire drive train from the control through the three-phase asynchronous motor to the torque at the tilting table has been so successful that Flender brought an enormous portfolio of over a million gear variants and decades of expertise in drive technology to the project table.”
Optimum control response reduces cycle time
Kuka has replaced the hydraulic swivel motor for the very first time in the sliding/tilting table press SEP SKT by a unilaterally acting electromechanical main drive. “As far as I am aware, with our innovative solution we are the world’s first manufacturer to use this type of electromechanical swivel solution as standard in a sliding/tilting table press,” says Günther. This offers an array of benefits to customers, most notably a reduction in the swivel movement cycle time of around 30%. The improved control response provided by the new technology also helps bring about other improvements to the overall efficiency of the production process.
Servicing made easier by digital integration
Digital integration of the drive into the control system ensures that the controller knows the position of the table at any given time. Digital monitoring and review of the components and documentation make for simplified servicing. The Flender drive is also impressive in terms of its robust design and wear resistance. Despite the bottom tool weighing a full six tons, the torque and acceleration levels occurring during the tilting movement of the table around the rotary axis are effortlessly absorbed by the new gear technology, as evidenced by endurance testing under load. After testing, the Flender components demonstrated no signs of wear whatsoever. “The extraordinary robustness of the planetary gear motors and the improved setting and actuating capability of the drives means we can now increase the swivel weight by up to 30 percent,” says a delighted Günther. “The frequency converter decelerates the high inertia torque levels and at the same time feeds energy generated by this process back into the grid.”
Future-proof technology
The new technology is designed to enable existing presses to be quickly retrofitted, either within one or two days or on a step-by-step basis. Günther is confident of a promising future for the new technology: “Because the benefits gained by changing to the new technology are not only impressive but sustainable too, we’ll be making use of the Flender SIP planetary gears wherever they bring about the same improvements as in our sliding/tilting table presses.”
For more information contact Jennifer Naidoo, Siemens Digital Factory and Process Industries and Drives, +27 11 652 2795, [email protected], www.siemens.co.za
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