Without application science is just philosophy!
That is why the transfer of current research results into industrial practice is of central importance at Werk150.
For and with SMEs we work on practice-oriented solutions and support the companies in their implementation.
In order to strenghten the transfer of research results into industrial practice, »Transferplattform Baden-Württemberg Industry 4.0« was founded in 2017. With the financial support of the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Economics, the universities of Aalen, Reutlingen and Esslingen are working together with the Steinbeis Foundation to find practical solutions that boost the competitiveness of regional SMEs.
Consistent scenarios at Werk150
Development and production of personalised VR-Glasses
Within the scope of the project work, an integrated scenario for the design and production of a Cardboard VR glasses was developed and implemented, including additive manufacturing (personalised lens holders) and visual assistance systems. For the individualisation and personalisation of the VR glasses, a laser engraving machine was used to engrave the glasses frame. For the assembly of the VR-glasses an MRK assembly workstation was developed, which enables the visitor to assemble his personalised glasses together with the collaborative robot.
To guide the visitor through the product configuration and assembly process, data glasses and tablet PCs (at the visitor's choice) were provided as informational assistance systems.
For a direct test of the VR glasses, a 360° video of the everyday life of an ESB student was created. The personalised product, produced in the Werk150 production system, allows the equipment and research results of Werk150 to be demonstrated at external events.
Fair demonstrator Sunglasses
Production of personalised sunglasses temples
In this scenario, individualised or personalised sunglasses temples are produced using additive manufacturing.
The virtual selection of the sunglasses design by the visitors takes place using a specially developed digital configurator.
The collaborative assembly of the sunglasses temples with the sunglasses front takes place in two steps together with two collaborative robots: Picking the temples from a storage magazine and placing them on a fixture in front of the human, as well as assisting in the screwing of the spectacle temples. In addition to the spectacle temples, all the devices of the trade fair demonstrator are also manufactured additively using the "Poly-JET 500 CONNEX3".
In order to enable visitors to assemble the system independently without instructions from the stand personnel, a tablet PC as well as Smart Glasses assembly instructions in the form of videos/3D animations and textual instructions are provided. In the final step, the glasses are personalised using a mobile, app-based marking device.
Collaborative tugger train
Within this use case, an application scenario was developed and implemented, which aimed at integrating the collaborative route train system of the research project "Collaborative Route Train 4.0 (KollRo 4.0)" into the versatile production system of Plant150.
The implemented and tested cyber-physical material flow system consisting of the collaborative tugger train and further manual, semi-automatic and automatic transport systems led to a target-optimised intralogistic transport order fulfilment, especially in case of unforeseen turbulences (such as urgent deliveries or failures of transport systems).
The collaborative tugger train in particular also offers great potential for further automation or partial automation in the sense of man-machine collaboration of material preparation tasks in cyber-physical factories and thus relieving the employee of monotonous and ergonomically unfavourable material handling processes.
Collaborative commisioning of components
On the basis of the research work, an integrated overall scenario has been developed, which aims in particular at demonstrating the potential of flexible or adaptable intralogistics systems through the use of collaborative robot systems and innovative decentralised control systems based on the concept of self-control. The aim is to achieve a holistic approach with a real-time-capable coupling of the physical factory and the digital, cloud-based engineering business platform as well as a scalable, real-time-capable planning and control system landscape in Werk150.
Within the scope of the project, a partial scenario for the collaborative commissioning of components for set formation by using a Universal Robot UR10 robot and a Pick-by-Light system as an informational assistance system for the employee was developed. Through this scenario, important findings in the area of human-robot collaboration in the field of order picking could be collected and at the same time a halving of the required picking times could be achieved.
Easy Teaching concept
As part of the project work, an "easy teaching" approach for a KUKA Iiwa robot for untrained operators was designed. This robot, in combination with its omnidirectional robot platform, is able to handle changing tasks or "services" (such as material provision, component picking, etc.) depending on the situation, either on the basis of an existing robot program or through simplified programming by the employees in the workplace.
Further work in developing and detailing the "easy teaching" process as well as identifying the need for support and communicating it to the robot (manual, semi-automatic, automatic) will continue in Werk150.
Industry partners
