A positioning system for all cases
Engineer Mario Dobnik remembers the request: "We needed to be able to manufacture many different car models continuously on one line." In order to meet the complex requirements, Leantechnik developed a new modular system together with the car manufacturer. It consists of axles, drives and fasteners that can be combined with each other in almost any way. In this way, the user receives a completely individual positioning system that can be flexibly adapted to changing production conditions.

At the heart of the AFP axes are the lifgo-linear rack and pinion gearboxes from Leantechnik, which convert rotary movements into linear ones. With a lifting force of up to 25,000 newtons, lifting speeds of three meters per second and an acceleration of 50 meters per square second, they are suitable for applications such as in the automotive industry, where components need to be moved quickly over long distances.

As the gears also run absolutely synchronously, they enable precise positioning on the assembly line. This accuracy is essential in highly automated car production, as the robots can only process the components correctly if they are delivered accurately. Thanks to the special design of the gears, the AFP system works with high precision even at high speeds and long travel distances.

The drive unit of the positioning system is just as modular as the rack and pinion gears and the axes of the AFP. It consists of a brushless 24-volt DC servo drive with integrated controller, a holding brake, the gearbox and a clamping coupling. The controller is freely programmable and has a CAN bus interface (CANopen Drives profile DSP402). The axes are available as straight or angled drive units with stroke speeds of 35 or 90 millimetres per second.

The modular system consists of longitudinal axles, transverse axles, lifting axles and a drive unit. © Lean technology

Combination options for high flexibility
The modular system offers the user countless options and, thanks to its modularity, allows the production of different product variants on one and the same line. In future, companies will therefore only need to set up several parallel production lines if they want to increase their production volume. With the new positioning system, they not only save changeover times and therefore time, but also increase the productivity per unit area of their production thanks to the reduced space requirements of the systems.

The axles are suitable for all companies that want to manufacture a large number of product variants on one production line. In addition to vehicle manufacturers, this also includes battery producers. The AFP modular system enables the flexible positioning of holders, clamps and centring devices and the flexible mounting of different types of components.

In addition to a longitudinal axis, the system includes a transverse axis and a lifting axis as well as drive units. Each axis and each drive unit are defined separately and configured precisely according to the customer's requirements. The standard version of the longitudinal axis is designed for lifting distances of 60, 150, 300 and 400 millimetres. The axes are also available with special parameters in the "Light" and "Single" versions. The transverse axis for strokes of 60, 90 and 180 millimetres and the lifting axis for strokes of 60, 90 and 150 millimetres. AFP positioning systems are available as 1-, 2- or 3-axis systems and can be equipped with customer-specific accessories (gripper systems, welding robots, gluing devices).

The precise adjustment of the axes means that they can also be used for electronic shimming. This means that the original underlay with shim plates to compensate for manufacturing tolerances is no longer necessary, as this compensation can be dynamically controlled with the help of the corresponding software. as