The client needed a new system in place to rotate a large turret holding the dies for their metal extrusion process. It needed the ability to rotate a multi-ton gear quickly and stop it in a predetermined position to accurately locate the die for the extrusion process. In addition to improved cycle time and more reliable operation, there were also some safety concerns with the current system that they were hoping to address.

The existing legacy system was dated. A simple on/off motor was being used to rotate the turret. It was being turned on by the GE Fanuc PLC controlling the entire press and turned off when a proximity sensor on the turret was activated. The turret would then coast to a stop - hopefully in the correct position, but oftentimes it would be misaligned. The motor was also dated and had burned out the windings on its ‘high’ speed and would not operate in reverse. In addition to being slow, manually positioning the gear for set up required an operator to run the press in auto mode and use an operation cancel button to kill the entire press when the turret was in place. This led to some safety concerns as the operator could not see some areas of the press where other workers might be present.

DMC provided a Yaskawa motion control solution that plugged into the existing GE Fanuc PLC and proximity sensors. By using the same inputs/outputs that were being used in the current system, it was possible to implement a packaged solution that required no changes to the press logic file that was being used to operate the press. But with the Yaskawa MP2600 motion controller and servo, we were able to add a significant level of intelligence to the system – offering a significant decrease in cycle time, more accurate and reliable die positioning, and a manual jog operation that increased safety for the workers setting up the press. To top things off, the new system was installed during a scheduled holiday so that there was no delay or downtime in production. There was also the added benefit that replacement parts for the new system are much more available in the event of any hardware failure.