Custom solution for industrial automation: Raicam

Digimark is continuously studying new solutions and technologies to meet customer demands, indulging in one of the cardinal principles: total customization of the technological solution.

Indeed, the ability to listen and to succeed in meeting customers’ needs are key to building lasting partnerships, toward digitization.

The Digimark team, through the project developed for AP demonstrates the ability to combine the skills acquired in innovation contexts with the experience gained in the field ofindustrial automation. These issues today are closely interconnected to foster business success. In fact, the rise of information technology and the advent of the Internet have revolutionized advanced technology automation and control systems.

Raicam is a group specializing in the design, development and production of brakes, clutches and actuators for the automotive industry. The Automotive Products S.p.A plant, located in Moie di Maiolati Spontini (Ancona), produces clutches for passenger cars, trucks, motorcycles and tractors.

AP turned to Digimark to meet a specific need through a custom solution for industrial automation: quickly and accurately verifying the assembly of clutch plates. The 3D visualization replaces the pre-existing verification system: a camera, which did not precisely detect either the presence of rivets or the correct assembly of the flange, as the sides are very similar.

Project Description.

The customized industrial automation solution designed for AP consists of several elements. A motorized slide for moving the 3D scanning sensor and the 3D laser sensor is mounted on a metal frame, provided with adjustable feet to improve stability. Software is the key element, as it provides the human-machine interface for the operator.

Why was the laser chosen?

This 3-D laser technology allows the friction disk to be scanned and faithfully reproduced in 3 dimensions and then assessed, using Digimark software, for the presence of nonconforming elements.

In addition, the health of the operator is ensured through a forced stop control and sensors on the doors, which prevent the machine from operating if they are opened.

Benefits gained and new perspectives

In conclusion, the laser device interfaced with Digimark software, enabled AP to achieve in the immediate:

• greater accuracy and quality of the result;
• An acceleration of testing timelines;
• A minimization of possible future errors by eliminating their causes;
• The protection of operator safety through laser sensor locking devices.

The verification bench is a prototype carefully and specially developed on the specific needs and characteristics required by the customer. Subsequently, a proposal arose to expand its use to maximize production efficiency even more. Specifically, the implementation of the Digimark solution directly on the production line is underway to speed up the verification of clutch batch quality, without having to lengthen lead times.