RFID Guides AGV in Suspension Production
Turck is supplying Movexx with most of the automation required for an automated guided vehicle, including the programming of the Codesys controller on the HMI VT250
In the suspension systems production area at the Dutch company VDL Weweler, an automated guided vehicle (AGV) supplied by Movexx transports components for suspension systems from the basic production area to the paint line. Turck’s HMI VT250 with a Codesys controller is controlling how the vehicle finds its destination, supported by photoelectric sensors, RFID system as well as angle sensors and status indication systems from the Turck portfolio. Turck B.V. demonstrated its genuine solution expertise by not only supplying components but also programming the controller. Since the AGVs have taken up their duties in production, the error rate for the transport of components has rapidly dropped.
The truck and automotive supplier VDL Weweler in Apeldoorn, Netherlands, wanted to automate a transport operation requiring physical effort, but which has to be completed at the demand of the production system.
The responsible production planners saw the need for optimization in the transport of support elements and suspensions for truck trailers. Up to the middle of 2015, these components were still being transported between the basic production area and the paint line with lift trucks.
Manual transport unprecise
The disadvantage of this solution was the fact that it required a lot of physical effort from the employees. Furthermore, colleagues could not always work as precisely as an automated vehicle, so the production was endangered. In 2014, the decision makers at VDL Weweler therefore decided to automate the transport of the frames.
Movexx develops new AGV
The decision makers at VDL Weweler turned to the transport specialists at Movexx International B.V. to develop an automated transport solution. Movexx is a Dutch manufacturer of industrial trucks including many customer-specific products. The manufacturer had already developed and built so-called AGVs (automated guided vehicles). However, a new solution had to be developed for this task.
The AGV must move in both directions because it is only possible to reverse out of the target stations. The hydraulic lifting platform raises the frame two centimeters from the floor in order to transport it.
Comprehensive automation solution from Turck B.V.
To develop the transport vehicle, Andreas Versteeg got Turck on board already in the planning phase. Movexx had previously used the Turck sensors and LED lights in its products. However, this project also required solution expertise as well as capable components.
The greatest challenge was the bidirectional control of the AGV on the factory floor. Turck suggested a combined RFID contrast strip control.
RFID system for destination control
Optimum line tracking is combined with RFID tags which are stuck to the factory floor at key points along the lines. The tags at the turnout points indicate to the AGV, whether it is to continue driving or stop. The AGV does not itself make decisions. The intelligence is in the networking of the AGV with the higher-level IMS (integrated manufacturing system), which instructs the AGV to move to a specified point.
Turck’s VT250 HMI-PLC operates on the AGV. It communicates with the IMS via a wireless TCP/IP connection and responds as a Profibus master with a BL20 gateway containing the inputs and outputs to which all signals of the vehicle are connected.
- Automotive
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- Press Shop – Sheet Metal Thickness Measurement
- Body Shop – Welding Nut Detection
- Paint Shop – Skid Identification
- Body Shop – Area Guarding
- Final Assembly – Robot Assembly
- Body Shop – Automotive Welding Tip Inspection
- Final Assembly – Diagnosis of Leaks
- Tier 1 – Bumper Identification
- Body Shop – Manual Load Weld Cell
- Powertrain – Contactless Verification
- Body Detection in Automobile Production
- Final Assembly – Black Parts Detection
- Item-level Detection with UHF RFID
- Final Assembly – Moonroof Detection
- Final Assembly – Long-Range Inspection
- Powertrain – Rubber Washer Detection
- Powertrain – Part-In-Place Detection
- Electric Vehicle Detection
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- Weld Nut Sensing
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- Angle Sensors for Assembly Systems
- Tool Identification
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- RFID and I/O modules for Safe Tool Changes
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- Mobile Equipment
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- Angle Measurement on a Field Sprayer
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- Rugged Heavy Metal Lifting
- Rollercoaster Positioning
- Mobile Machinery Solutions
- Exact Height Positioning
- Critical Angle Sensing
- Angle Sensor Detects Platform Lift
- Oil and Gas
- Packaging
- Identification of Printing Color Cartridges
- Reliable Operation of Machines
- Container Check
- Monitoring of Caps in Filling Lines
- Monitoring Changeover Processes
- Identification of Test Bottles
- Level Monitoring of Ground Coffee
- Level Detection in Vessels
- Detection of Transport Containers
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- Detection of Pipe Elbows
- Remote Signal I/O
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- Identification of Portable Tanks
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- Identification of Mobile Containers
- Identification of Mobile Containers with Handheld Devices
- Identification of Hose Connections for Precursors
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