Customer

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Ewellix is the leading global manufacturer and supplier of linear motion solutions, which incorporate state-of-the-art designs, components and digital technology. The company has more than 1250 employees and 6 manufacturing units in Europe, Asia, and North America. Ewellix produces Linear motion and Actuation solutions used in industrial automation, medical applications, and mobile machinery. The company is a part of the Schaeffler Group, a leading global supplier to the automotive and industrial sectors.

We have previously worked with Ewellix on a Universal Integration Platform project to create a universal integration platform for LIFTKIT and SLIDEKIT systems. This platform allows the integration of any collaborative robotic arm, regardless of the robot's manufacturer.

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Challenge

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In today's industry, there is often a need to expand the range of operation of a robotic arm. One of the typical cases where this need is present is palletizing where cobot by its limited operating range is not able to reach all layers on the pallet. Putting a cobot on a linear lifting column is a way to extend the vertical working range of the palletizing system. This is one example among many others where extending a cobot operating range is needed.

Now, that we understand the need to extend the operating range, we are continuing to the challenges every cobot manufacturer expects to be addressed:

- fast time to market

- high quality and reliability

- keep track of the budget and be cost-effective

- safety standards

- 7th axis fully integrated into native cobot programming and simulating environment, so operators and engineers who are already familiar with the manufacturer's environment do not need to be trained to operate/program 7th axis

A good example that has addressed all the mentioned challenges is an integration of FANUC's CRX line of collaborative robots with EWELLIX's LIFTKIT (linear column actuator).

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FANUC  

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FANUC is a Japanese group of companies that provide automation products and services such as robotics and computer numerical control wireless systems. FANUC started the development of NCs (Numerical Controls) in 1955, and ever since, has devoted itself to focusing on factory automation.

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Solution

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EWELLIX's Universal Integration Platform is designed to address market expectations described in the chapter "Challenge".

Using the platform and modern EWELLIX's LIFTKIT actuators, integration with the FANUC CRX cobots has brought the solution that fulfils market needs:

• short integration time and fast exit to market
• high quality and reliability
• functional safety
• the 7th axis is fully integrated into FANUC's CRX robot environment. Operators and engineers operate/program the 7th linear axis as any other cobot's axis through the native FANUC programming environment (ROBOGUIDE). That is, operators and engineers who are already familiar with the FANUC's ROBOGUIDE environment do not need to be additionally trained for programming/operating the 7th LIFTKIT axis.
  

How did we meet these requirements?

1. Fast-time-to-market  ‍

Based on the experience gained in robot integrations, a workflow was created where the key activities necessary for integration were identified and grouped into phases. The team planned integration according to this established framework, making the entire integration process more efficient.

When it comes to defining MVP (Minimum Viable Product), the Universal Integration Platform was designed to support various levels of integration through different command sets, making it easy to implement the MVP.

2. High quality and reliability

The software development process was based on established best practices.

• All requirements were thoroughly covered by test scenarios.
• Testing was conducted in all phases.
• Vendor certification served as evidence of standards compliance.  

3. Satisfying safety standards

To ensure the secure operation of the LIFTKIT, we diligently adhered to best practices for safety. This involved closely monitoring all safety signals provided by the robot manufacturer (FANUC) and promptly responding to them. Our priority was to guarantee that integrated cobots  can still be manipulated in collaborative way. As part of our safety protocols, when the robot's safety signal is activated, we take comprehensive measures to ensure that the LIFTKIT responds appropriately. This encompasses both software-level responses and an electrical cut-off to guarantee that safety is maintained in all aspects of the LIFTKIT's operation.

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4. 7^th axis fully integrated into native cobot programming and simulating environment

The Universal Integration Platform is designed to support all programming commands applicable to a linear actuator.

One of the initial phases of integration involves studying the vendor's development environment, with a focus on the functionalities required for integration.

Read more about how we fulfilled the requirements on linear motion x cobots project here.  

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On-Site Testing

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After fulfilling the initial requests defined by the MVP, and continuous testing during development, the entire solution was tested under FAT criteria, together with FANUC representatives. The testing was done both virtually, and in real life, on-site.  

In addition to the testing results, which are presented in the form of detailed reports outlining the types of tests conducted and any tests that did not pass, along with clear reproduction steps, FAT played a role in the product's further development as follows:

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1. Opportunities for improvement of the product and solution were noticed

2. Proposal of functionalities that are not covered with the solution but could be useful to the end clients

Both aspects were included in the planning of the next version of the solution/product.  

The core benefit of this project was having a complete solution, meaning that anyone with a FANUC cobot can use a Universal Integration Platform with FANUC graphic interface. This interface is tailor made for the client, so they can easily use the FANUC robot without setup complications.

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