The Challenge
Manufacturing low voltage power switches requires precision assembly and testing across many different product variants. As a producer of a wide range of industrial switches, ABB Smart Power needed a highly flexible automated solution to help it juggle the competing demands of growing volumes, maintaining quality and driving down costs.
The Solution
ABB Robotics’ system integrator partner JOT Automation used the unrivalled flexibility of ABB six-axis robots to provide a fully automated custom assembly line. The line successfully handles two product families with up to 40 different product variants and is capable of semi-autonomous production.
The application
Start-to-finish automation is enabling ABB Smart Power to massively ramp up production of its industrial switch ranges cost-effectively and without compromising on quality.
Based in Vaasa, Finland, ABB Smart Power’s low voltage switch factory manufactures a wide range of equipment to help connect, protect, control and measure electrical installations and devices in high-growth industries such as solar, auxiliary power and IT. To meet rising demand, the company needed to increase production rapidly while maintaining quality and without pushing up production costs.
To address this, ABB Robotics’ system integrator, JOT Automation, built an automated solution using ABB’s six-axis robots. This was not an easy task since the line produces up to eight different products, each with specific production steps, line paths and components.
To meet the demands of the application for fast, flexible production, the robotic solution uses a combination of ABB IRB 1200 six-axis robots and SCARA 910SC robots, each handling a specific part of the switch production process.
The automated production line manufactures two distinct product families, with each one having up to 40 different product variants. The system swaps between different products dynamically to meet production orders from the factory’s manufacturing execution system (MES).
The automated line features 13 ABB robots, including two vision-enabled IRB 1200 robots, which select, pick, place and assemble the various components needed to build different switch combinations. Specific tasks handled by the robots include applying grease, screwing, inserting clips and installing multiple contacts. The rapid nature of the production process also requires these tasks to be performed quickly and precisely, making dexterity and fast and consistent performance critical requirements.
Robots are also used throughout the finishing stages of the production process, carrying out tasks including end product labeling, quality testing and picking and placing finished products on the outgoing conveyor ready for dispatch.
“To help us expand our production, we needed something that could meet our demanding requirements while providing industry-leading reliability and quality,” said Juha Sohlberg, Senior Project Manager at ABB Smart Power. “Working with JOT Automation , we generated a fully automated robotic solution that enables us to meet these aims.”
About JOT Automation
JOT Automation provides world-leading production automation and testing solutions for automotive, telecom, renewable energy, consumer and power electronics industries. JOT Automation’s high-performance products and custom automation solutions help customers increase productivity and improve cost efficiency. For more information about JOT Automation, please visit JOT Automation website.
