The medium-sized company Honecker has been manufacturing stamped, bent and drawn sheet metal parts since 1976, supplying small and medium-sized companies in a wide range of industries. These companies use Honecker products in power tools, skis and ski bindings, electromechanical components, medical devices and construction components, among other things. The shapes and geometries of the parts to be manufactured are as varied as the applications - not a primary field of application for a robot. Much to the regret of Phelia Honecker, project manager at Honecker and responsible for the production of prototypes, among other things. She represents the third generation of the family business and had been waiting for the right application for a robot for some time.

"When one of our customers then ordered a large number of specific stamped parts that had to be processed by hand by the employees, we were ready to enter the robot era," explains Phelia Honecker. "Processing the parts involves countless manual gripping processes and moving heavy elements. This work can be detrimental to the health of our employees. And we want to prevent that at all costs." During the process evaluation, Honecker quickly realized that a classic industrial robot would not suit the company. When Honecker heard about the tactile Franka-Emika robot, she knew that this cobot could be suitable. A key decision criterion for the selection was the ease of use and programming of the robot. As the employees are not robot experts, the tactile robot was the best choice for the new project.

The work process is as follows: The punched aluminum blank comes out of the grinding machine in a template. The employee picks up the template and carries out a visual inspection. If the stamped parts are in order and show no signs of damage, the employee releases them for the robot. The robot now moves to the previously defined position, picks up the punched parts with the help of a defined contact pressure and a switched-on vacuum, places them on the stack in the designated box and then releases the vacuum.

Cobot app from TQ enables intelligent stacking

The particular challenge of this application is that no constant value can be programmed for the placement of the punched parts, as the stack of punched parts does not have a fixed height - it grows with each placed part, and if an employee removes punched parts, its height is reduced. The solution to this challenging task is provided by the "Move-to-contact" app developed by TQ for the Franka Emika. This function module is always used when a position size or contact surface is variable. In this case, the robot's "sensitivity" comes into play. This means that the Franka Emika robot moves its arm with the picked-up punched part to the position at which it registers contact with the uppermost stacking layer. This is the signal for it to switch off the vacuum and deposit the punched part.

Although this process sounds quite complicated, it can be programmed via the app with just three clicks. Phelia Honecker explains: "We built the cobot ourselves and programmed it independently with the help of the clear TQ tutorials. Thanks to the intuitive operation, we controlled the work process ourselves and it ran very well after a short time. We only needed support from the TQ team of experts when it came to fine-tuning." Honecker was also able to use its own expertise in the development of the gripper tool for the robot arm: The in-house toolmaking department manufactured the gripper itself according to the company's own requirements. This can now grip several parts at once if required and transport them further with the vacuum system.

The staff's initial skepticism was quickly overcome when it became apparent how quickly the tactile robot took over the unpleasant, monotonous and physically strenuous tasks for the employees. "We all don't want to give the Cobot back," was the unanimous opinion. Another plus for Honecker is the increase in quality thanks to the consistent precision with which Franka Emika works. Even after ten hours of continuous picking and placing processes, there are no signs of concentration or fatigue.

For Christian Honecker, responsible for the commercial management of the company, the collaborative robotics solution from TQ also represents high added value. "We had previously evaluated other robot solutions, but their use was always too complex. We would have had to invest high costs in robot training for employees and maintain a large installation space. In addition, the required production flexibility is lost with an industrial robot. With the enormous variety of different parts that we produce, this would not be feasible for us." TQ-Cobot systems, on the other hand, are designed so that an employee can program the system manually and interact directly with the Franka Emika in the event of a malfunction. This is simple, intuitive and quick to learn. Thanks to the robot's seven axes, this is possible even in the smallest of spaces.

And what is Phelia Honecker's advice to other companies facing similar considerations? "Just try it out and don't be shy." She adds: "We are impressed with how quickly the complete solution was up and running. And when problems arose, the TQ team provided quick and competent support."