Waldmössingen, May 22, 2023. Schwäbische Werkzeugmaschinen GmbH (SW) will be present several new solutions at automatica in Munich (June 27-30, 2023). At the leading trade fair for intelligent automation and robotics, SW experts will showcase their extensive manufacturing and automation portfolio in hall A5 at booth 320. Thanks to interactive exhibits, visitors can experience automation live: visitors can test a newly developed optical recognition system, compete against an automated robot arm in a game of “buzz wire” and have a personalized giveaway handed to them via smart picking. These and other solutions from SW show how manufacturers can use flexible manufacturing modules, agile process chain connectivity and digital manufacturing control and production to meet challenges such as fluctuating quantities and shorter runtimes with reduced volumes.
SW develops and produces individual, smart manufacturing solutions for the custom-fit production of a wide range of precision parts, including single and multi-spindle machines with linear and ball screw drives. Machines, systems, and the corresponding automation solutions from SW are used in a wide range of industries around the world – for both large and small series production by customers in the automotive/e-mobility, medical technology, agricultural and construction machinery and aerospace technology sectors. In these areas, automation has emerged as a key success factor. At automatica, SW not only presents smart individual solutions, but also shows how they interact with each other – and with people.
Intelligent automation solutions of the future
Digitalization and artificial intelligence are among the hot topics at automatica 2023. As a solution provider in the field of modular automation, SW will make innovation visible and explorable during the three trade fair days: "Nothing beats a first-hand experience and comprehension which is why we have placed even more emphasis on the direct interaction between visitors and our solutions this year," says Sven Eichhorst, Product Manager Automation at SW.
Among other things, visitors can compete against a robot arm at the booth. Who will be able to guide a self-bent wire precisely through an opening at the assembly station without touching the sides of the turning part? The adversary is a cobot that reacts intelligently to new problems thanks to software and sensor technology from SW. This flexibility makes it possible to realize different assembly requirements on the same production line without much effort.
Prizes will be handed out automatically to the winners: the 7-axis robot solution TopRob7 reaches into a ball container, which moves forward to the right place via Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV). As a true cobot, the TopRob7 not only requires little space, but also no protective fences, thus allowing free access to the station. Also, the MobileRob1 AGV is designed to save space and has a payload of up to 100 kilograms.
Visitors who don’t win at the game won’t have to go home empty-handed: at the next station, they can customize various giveaways with their own text via an interactive user interface. This is made possible by smart picking, a combination of hardware and software including another robot, which selects the desired giveaways from a box of unsorted objects with the help of AI, delivers them to the labelling station and hands them over to the visitor once the process is complete.
Artificial intelligence for error-free visual recognition
To be able to automate component traceability and precise gripping processes, correct visual recognition of codes and workpieces is an essential requirement. Artificial intelligence is necessary wherever the visual recognition feature deviates from the norm due to dirt, changes in light, etc. For this purpose, SW has developed a new AI platform for optimizing processes, which can be linked with various sensor systems and can be used and operated without expert knowledge. SW's vision AI system can be tested directly at the exhibition booth with interfering influences such as dirt, water and light effects: Despite these complications, the self-learning AI captures the code correctly – thus avoiding failures and errors in everyday production.
