Vetrotech Saint-Gobain Kinon has been manufacturing safety glass since 1980. In addition to bullet-proof and explosion-proof glass, the company also manufactures fire-resistant glass. The company uses robot technology to make the production of this glass even faster and more reliable. For example, a Delta robot from Igus is used to sort bulk goods onto predefined pallets. The conversion relieves employees and reduces costs. Following a successful test phase in Germany, all five company sites are now to be converted to the modern automation technology.

The history of Saint-Gobain goes back to the year 1665. The French King Louis XIV granted the financier Nicolas Dunoyer an exclusive manufacturing privilege for mirror glass - with the aim of breaking the monopoly position of the Republic of Venice. The main production facility is built in Saint-Gobain, a small village in Normandy. The orders are impressive. For example, mirrors from Saint-Gobain have adorned the gallery of the Palace of Versailles since 1684. Around 300 years later, the glass specialist entered the market for fire-resistant glass together with Vetrotech.

Special liquid for fire protection

Vetrotech Saint-Gobain specializes in building glass. This includes fire protection, thermal insulation, sound insulation and safety glass. Fire-resistant glass acts as an obstacle to fire, preventing it from spreading for a certain period of time. Conventional glass cannot do this as it shatters due to the heat. Special glass with cavities that provide insulation protection is required in production. The multi-layered glass is coated with a compound. However, a liquid must first be filled between the glass panes to provide fire protection.

The Delta robot takes over the positioning of filling corners in predefined pallets. © angelique-photography.com

To fill the glass panes, the designers use filling corners in the form of arrows as placeholders, through which the liquid enters the gap via a hose. They are inserted into the spacer before the panes are pressed. The corners are pulled out again for the filling process. The edges on the underside of the spacer are cut cleanly so that the tube can be inserted there. Once the disk has been filled, the tube is removed and the opening closed. The liquid becomes clear after curing.

Previously, the plastic arrows were first placed in predefined molds, then picked up by a robot and positioned as placeholders. Placing the arrows into the molds was previously done by hand. The work was carried out by an employee who performed this task on the side. Now a new solution was needed that would relieve the employee, be cost-effective and deliver reliable results.

Daniel Fahnenstich, Niklas Kuhl and Daniel Voth took on this task as part of their technical training at Vetrotech Saint-Gobain. In their search for a suitable automation solution, the project team came across the Delta robot from Igus. The low-cost version as an automation solution is ideal for the simple implementation of the project. The robot is based on three maintenance-free Drylin ZLW toothed belt axes, lubricant-free Igubal coupling rods and suitable adapter plates. NEMA stepper motors and encoders ensure fast handling of up to 5 kg with a precision of ±0.5 mm. The complete system has a working area diameter of 660 mm. The lightweight design made of aluminum and plastic makes the robot cost-effective with a price of less than 5,000 euros and ensures high speeds with a pick rate of at least 30 per minute. Together with the experts from Igus, the project team developed the pick-and-place solution for the automated placement of the arrows on predefined pallets.

The automation solution relieves employees and speeds up production processes. But the improved quality of work was not the only incentive to automate. "If one employee sorts the filling corners for three hours in three shifts per day, the project currently pays for itself in terms of costs after twelve months," says Niklas Kuhl.

Short set-up times with robot technology

Saint-Gobain Vetrotech already has plans to optimize the manufacturing process so that the filling corner sorting system runs completely automatically - from loading to unloading. The company has five other sites worldwide with the same application. These are also to be converted to robot technology. "If we were to build this again now, we would order the Delta robot, use the tripod kinematics, enter the already known values and the system would be ready to run. If everything is in stock, we can assemble such a system in one day," explains Kuhl. The company had even partially converted the Delta robot to Siemens components. The stepper motors from Igus and the Dryve D1 controller were replaced with Siemens servo motors and Siemens servo controllers to ensure perfect control with the Siemens S7-1511T controller. The company uses the Siemens TIA Portal V15.1 and the technology functions of the controller for programming and calculating the kinematics.

The Delta robot can be delivered within 24 hours as a pre-assembled kit in a box or directly ready for installation in a transport frame. Customers have the option of using their own software and control system or the intuitive and easy-to-use Igus Robot Control or Dryve control system. The Delta robot is particularly suitable for simple assembly tasks, pick-and-place and testing technology applications.

Richard Habering, Head of the smart plastics division, Igus / am