Robots save costs on propshaft line
- For the manufacture of propshafts for the latest Land Rover Discovery 3 and Range Rover Sport, GKN Driveline in Walsall has installed two new, automated turning cells.
- Each comprises a pair of Mazak lathes loaded and unloaded by a Motoman articulated-arm robot, plus conveyers and handling equipment. Replacing two operators working round the clock in shifts, the robots with one operator in attendance are resulting in savings that will pay for the capital cost of the robots and their integration.
- Commented Alan Sellman, Project Engineer: 'We had been looking at automation for some time, but one needs relatively large volumes to justify the investment'.
- 'Then the T5 contract came along, which was ideal for automation, so we decided to take the plunge'.
- 'We are currently producing 14,000 stub shafts per week in the two cells, which are the first lathes on the Walsall site to use stand alone robots'.
- A sister GKN Driveline factory in the USA uses over 200 Motoman robots to tend a variety of machine tools, which persuaded the Walsall production engineering team to approach Motoman Robotics (UK) for the supply of two naked UP20s, which were integrated by Sellman and his colleagues to feed both pairs of Mazak Nexus 250 lathes.
- Safety measures include an interlock to ensure that a robot cannot crash into a manual control pendant should one be left adjacent to the output conveyor or a machine door inside a cell.
- 'The Motoman robots in the automated turning cells have not missed a beat since they were installed in January 2005'.
- 'We have employed robots within the welding process here for many years and following the success of this machine tending application, it is likely that more automated handling projects will follow'.
- Indeed, the next Motoman UP20 robot has already been earmarked for installation at the Walsall plant.
