Beckhoff’s extensive range of technologies and products underscores its position as a highly experienced partner and solution provider for a wide variety of assembly and handling processes. Countless customers are already leveraging PC-based control to develop and implement their innovative solutions and ensure they maintain a technological edge.
Current applications
Flexible final inspection: XPlanar greatly increases testing capacity and throughput
In the fall of 2021, Beckhoff began to completely rethink the way it carried out final inspections of I/O components. Its aim was to significantly increase testing capacity and throughput, even though many different types of terminals are produced. The system, which was created by the company’s own Equipment Manufacturing department, can program, adjust, and test around 10,000 terminals per shift fully automatically. The high speed and flexibility are the result of not only the sophisticated system concept, but also the intelligent XPlanar transport system, PC-based control, and the wide range of EtherCAT Terminals.
Sophisticated, highly efficient production line thanks to PC- and EtherCAT-based servo drive technology
Mitec Enginy, a young and dynamic automation integrator based in northern Spain, says it has developed a sophisticated and powerful production technology masterpiece. The core element is a revolutionary motion control system with a total of 67 servo axes synchronized by a camming function. The result is a production line that feeds, cuts, and bends wire, produces springs, and mass-produces the final product – a rat trap – in just 1.5 seconds. In addition to the servo drive technology, Beckhoff also supplies the required control performance with the CX2062 Embedded PC and TwinCAT software.
Intelligent microassembly product transport: modular machine design and highly accurate positioning with XTS
In its search for a high-precision transport system for fully automated electronic module assembly systems, the Dutch company IMS found just what it was looking for at Beckhoff. With a repeatability of 10 µm, the XTS linear transport system meets the high requirements for product positioning. In addition, the XTS modular system provides the basis for easy modular adaptation of the plant to changing production requirements.
Machine concept for the production of brooms and brushes: distributed servo drive technology and EtherCAT P facilitate production process overhaul
Industrial production of brooms and brushes is essentially the same as the classic manual approach; only the machinery simply works faster. Nevertheless, it’s still not fast enough for Italian machine builder Borghi S.p.A. This is where the Moon project came in, allowing the company to make a significant leap in terms of productivity. The project saw the development and implementation of a completely new production sequence using PC-based control and the AMP8000 distributed servo drive system based on EtherCAT P.
XTS enables parallel inspection processes for maximum throughput with a minimized footprint
Gefasoft has developed an exceptionally compact testing system for the optical inspection of automotive airbag diffusers using the intelligent transport system XTS. The individual movement of the XTS movers enables individual inspection processes to be duplicated and executed in parallel. As a result, the workstations are utilized optimally and the total number of workstations is reduced. Overall, this leads to a 40% reduction in the required footprint.