Text description provided by the architects
On the hill dedicated to the annual Easter fire above Referinghausen thrones the Open Mind Place Sonnenklang
The tent-shaped roof over a wooden lounger captures the light rays from the evening sun and the sounds of the surrounding
Here the visitor can relax and take in the landscape
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Vision and Automation Solutions for Engineers and Integrators Worldwide
has been producing energy-efficient and sustainable housing for many years
with an uptick in the prefabricated housing market
the company has been looking for ways to automate its production processes while still producing high-quality products
"FingerHaus had the vision to increase output and relieve the workload of employees by integrating robot automation to their wall manufacturing line," says Christopher Köster, an executive in general management and sales for BETH Sondermaschinen GmbH (Medebach, Germany; www.beth-germany.com)
"The prefabricated housing market has been growing for the past 20 years
The rising demand for prefabricated houses can’t be satisfied based on the existing production technologies and the increasing shortage of skilled workers
Automation can help to increase the productivity of the manufacturers by shifting from craftmanship to modern production technologies."
Automating the paneling (or assembly) of wall elements for prefabricated houses is a complex process
They are customized to a customer's wishes
they may have different geometries created from an assortment of panel sizes
Wall elements can have various dimensions
such as a length of 800 (about 2.62 ft) -12000 mm (about 39.37 ft) with a tolerance of +/- 10 mm (about 0.39 in)
a height of 1600-3000 mm (about 9.84 ft) with a tolerance of +/- 5mm (about 0.2 in)
and a thickness of 80-300 mm (about 11.81 in) with a tolerance of +/-2 mm (about 0.08 in)
The dimensional stability of the materials can also vary
the sheets for one wall element are combined in a stack with up to 70 layers
and several sheets can be in one stack layer
All the sheets for one wall element form one coherent stack
making it impossible to process them side by side from left to right on the wall element
each individual panel part must be placed in its specific position on the wall element
A gap of 3 mm (about 0.12 in) is provided between the individual sheets of a panel system
which can be used to compensate for tolerances
Exact positioning of the individual sheets is essential because faulty paneling leads to a stand-still of the complete production process
To solve these challenges, executives from FingerHaus (Frankenberg, Germany; www.fingerhaus.de) called on two German firms
phil-vision GmbH and BETH Sondermaschinen GmbH
Phil-vision (Puchheim, Germany; www.phil-vision.com) was chosen as the supplier for the vision system. BETH Sondermaschinen GmbH developed and implemented an automated plant concept that includes both the semi-automated production of wooden frameworks and the automated paneling of wall elements.
The new system uses a robotic cell with a gripper system in combination with a 3D camera system. To determine the exact position of the sheets for the gripper system, the sheets are measured with the 3D camera system, and the subsequent data provides the absolute position to the coordinate system of the robot cell.
"The material is automatically loaded to trolleys based on the best stacking stability. The orientation of the material is not precise and must be located by a vision system. As the tolerance for placing the planks and boards to the framework is quite low, it is necessary to detect the position very precisely," explains Köster.
The robot, using a vacuum gripping system, removes the sheets and positions them precisely on the timber frame. The integrated 3D camera system identifies the sheets, and then they are automatically fastened together using a clamping device that the robot activates.
The 3D camera system recognizes the respective position of the wood-based or plasterboard sheets, while an intelligent light system supports position recognition. The exact position data is immediately processed by software developed by BETH and transferred to the robot, which then takes over the precise paneling.
The interface between the robotic cell and the vision system used highly flexible communication between panels, as each wall part is unique. A highly precise robotic system was used with an accuracy of 100 µm over 30 m of coverage. This robotic system was combined with a highly precise vision system and gripper to pick different sizes of walls.
The walls on the trolley are 3200 x 1250 x 1000 mm³. In order to place the walls correctly with the robot arm, an accuracy of .5 mm was required.
The new system is different from other systems that had been tested, and it has a combination of specific unique but effective parameters. It has a short cycle time of 8 seconds, and a large measuring volume of 4.1m³ with an accuracy of well below 1 mm (about 0.04 in). The image is acquired while the robot is still placing the previously measured sheet, meaning that very fast cycle times are possible.
The overall automation solution includes a 50-meter-long (about 164 ft) line with a width of approximately 10 m, which offers maximum flexibility for paneling with standard dimensions and special geometries, including feeding and transfer to the next production step.
When asked about the main challenges facing the vision system, Patrick Gailer, Managing Director of phil-vision GmbH, says it was one of handling the paneling of wall elements with adequate stability, without knocking the robotic and vision system out of calibration.
"The initial precision of the system was working OK, but we got quite some setbacks when the system stopped working or got inaccurate without knowing why," says Gailer. "With this precision and these sizes, it was difficult to know when [and if] the camera and robot were decalibrated. “
Gailer said that in subsequent comprehensive infrastructure testing, they combined different calibration methods to catch any inaccuracies early and resulted in greater overall precision.
“We learned a lot about mechanical and thermal decalibration," says Gailer. “The development took a good 6 months longer than anticipated. To reach effectiveness much more (than anticipated) communication interaction between robot and vision system was needed. [Resultingly] the communication interface was broadened a lot."
Developing a solution of a robotic cell with an accurate gripping system, combined with sophisticated machine vision system using a 3D camera was impactful and effective for FingerHaus’ prefabricated housing production.
"FingerHaus can now produce prefabricated houses with higher speed, cost efficiency and accuracy," says Gailer. "The workplace is more attractive for skilled workers because the monotonous and physically demanding tasks are done by robots, and there is less waste because of maximized material utilization."
Jim Romeo is a freelance writer and engineer based in Chesapeake, Virginia.
Text description provided by the architects. The Pflug reminisces of the village’s rural origins. Digitized records that tell stories of ancestors’ daily life are reproduced.
A staircase takes you down into the walkable sculpture to wander around and to listen to the old tales on a bench with a view over the fields and the landscape.
the stories advocate finding joy and satisfaction in life
Zwei Unwetter treffen Teile des Hochsauerlandkreises