1. Mobile CNC feeding: development of a flexible, mobile charger for CNC machines
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Mobile CNC feeding: development of a flexible, mobile charger for CNC machines

BFH is developing a mobile CNC charging solution for the carpentry/joinery sector as part of an Innosuisse project. Following field tests and a market survey, a modular, functional prototype has been created that enables automation for SMEs

Factsheet

Situation

The ongoing shortage of skilled workers in the carpentry sector poses a major challenge to the efficient utilisation of CNC woodworking machines. At the same time, fluctuating order volumes lead to varying capacity requirements, making flexible production processes increasingly important. Existing automation solutions are often stationary, costly and therefore of limited economic viability for small and medium-sized enterprises. Together with its industry partners vonrickenbach.swiss ag, Weinig Holz-Her Schweiz AG and Bachmann Engineering AG (IAR Group), the Institute for Digital Economy in the Construction and Wood Industry, in collaboration with the Robotics Lab of the Institute for Human Centered Engineering, has developed a mobile charging solution for the carpentry/joinery sector. This should make it possible to operate several machines with a single robot, increase capacity utilisation and reduce shortages in production. Thanks to its flexible applicability and modular structure, the mobile solution is intended to make automation economically attractive for smaller companies and strengthen the competitiveness of the industry.

Course of action

The first part of the project focused on technical challenges, such as basic programming, referencing and the control of different machines. After successful field tests in a test set-up at vonrickenbach.swiss and a market survey within the carpentry/joinery sector, it became clear that the concept developed performs effectively in a woodworking environment and has generated significant interest in the industry. On this basis, the project team developed a fully operational modular prototype of a mobile CNC feeding solution adapted to the needs of the industry in the second part of the project.

Result

With a load capacity of 20 or 30 kg and reaches of 1.7 and 1.3 m, the prototype can move components up to the side of a cabinet. The integrated vacuum generation, the vacuum gripper and an optional gripper changing system enable versatile and flexible use. The mobility of the system is provided by a pallet truck in the basic version and by a driverless stacker (AGV) in the extended version. The separation of AGV and feeder unit offers companies additional benefits for intralogistics processes. The system’s battery mode allows it to operate for up to eight hours. Intuitive programming via a graphical user interface and camera-based automatic referencing, which automatically corrects the robot position, make the system easier to operate and increase acceptance among staff. Safety is ensured by a radar-based sensor, which monitors the protection zone and can ignore static objects, eliminating the need to reconfigure the sensors when the environment changes. To prevent collisions with static objects when handling parts of different dimensions, a proof of concept for collision monitoring was also created. In addition, the prototype has been integrated into higher-level CNC control systems, with the robot controller’s API facilitating easy connection.

Looking ahead

The prototype was presented to the public at Holz25 in Basel and received positive feedback from the industry. Furthermore, a practical test was conducted over the course of several weeks at the business partner Vonrickenbach.swiss, confirming the functionality of the product in a real-world environment. The solution will be presented to an international audience for the first time at Holzhandwerk 26 in Nuremberg.

Contact

Prof. Simon von Gunten

  • Dozent
  • +41 32 344 02 86
  • Show e-mail

This project contributes to the following SDGs

  • 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure

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