Excellent cutting – with SicoCam from SICK AppSpace
Are you still spending time and effort manually measuring the dimensions of raw sheet metal? Now, the SicoCam online sheet metal measurement system developed by Siempelkamp Logistics & Service GmbH can continuously measure sheet metal dimensions online, utilizing four SICK InspectorP65x programmable high-performance cameras and SICK AppSpace. This system automatically calculates sheet metal dimensions and adjusts the panel saw accordingly, improving sheet metal quality, reducing scrap, and increasing production efficiency. Furthermore, workplace safety is also enhanced.
Fritz Egger GmbH & Co. OG, a particleboard factory located in St.-Pölten-Unterradlberg, processes approximately three million cubic meters of timber annually into nearly 40 million square meters of coated particleboard. This amount, if laid end to end, would equal half the circumference of the Earth. These particleboards are delivered to industrial enterprises and specialty stores. All the well-known Austrian furniture manufacturers are their clients. In the processing of raw boards, after the pressed boards are sawn diagonally, individual boards need to be measured to monitor their dimensions and correct for any deviations. Previously, this work could only be done manually by workers unloading so-called qualified boards from the production line and measuring them on equipment such as star-shaped drying racks.
Improve automation levels and provide safety solutions
For a long time, equipment manufacturers and suppliers Siempelkamp and Egger have sought a technological solution to eliminate serious safety hazards in existing cutting processes. “The existing solution of manually measuring sheet metal dimensions behind a multi-panel saw does not meet modern safety standards,” explains Dr. Frank Otto, Project Manager at Siempelkamp Logistics & Service GmbH. “Furthermore, our multi-panel saws often cut in double, triple, or quadruple saw modes, using two or more saw sets. The process of manually measuring sheet metal and manually correcting cutting values when dimensional deviations occur is too complex and tedious for our customers, not to mention the safety issues.” Previously, unloaded sheet metal had to be manually inspected with a tape measure and placed in the scrap heap. If a dimensional deviation was found, the operator of the panel saw had to input the corresponding correction value to adjust the saw. However, during this time, a large number of incorrectly sized sheets had already entered the next stage of the process. After the panel saw was adjusted, the operator had to immediately remove a sheet metal and remeasure it; if the sheet metal still did not meet the requirements, the operator had to readjust the saw again. This was a process that could last fifteen minutes to half an hour.
“Now, with the plate measurement system integrated with the machinery, the panel saw can be corrected immediately if dimensional deviations occur,” notes Martin Hinterhofer, Technical Manager at Fritz Egger GmbH & Co. OG. “Furthermore, this new equipment allows us to respond quickly to process changes and ensure product quality.”
Plate geometry measurement
In particleboard production, the forming and stamping production line is a crucial system unit in the entire process. As the core component of the equipment, it determines the output and quality of the product, and the cycle time and efficiency of downstream equipment must be adapted accordingly to avoid bottlenecks. For example, the board geometry measurement system should ideally be located after the panel saw for real-time measurement of board dimensions. Siempelkamp's SicoCam online board measurement system can measure the length and width of the board, and also calculate the diagonals and angles of the four corners. This optimizes edge planing and cross-cutting and minimizes waste.
Siempelkamp adds the finishing touch
After continuous sheet metal is cut into individual boards of a certain size, their dimensions are measured as they pass through the conveyor rails. Four Inspector65x programmable 2D cameras are mounted on movable slides on a gantry above the rails. By adjusting the slide positions, the camera system can accommodate different board lengths, with an adjustment accuracy of 0.01 mm. A W12-2 Laser miniature photoelectric sensor is used to detect the board and trigger the cameras to take pictures. “We have a conveyor belt or a roller conveyor; the SicoCam gantry is positioned above it and measures the board as it arrives,” Dr. Frank Otto describes the structure. “This system has no mechanical connection to existing equipment. It is completely independent; we don’t need to modify existing machinery, change its functions, or reduce the board speed.” “Installation can be done during operation, requiring only short stops, as it’s easy to place the system above,” confirms Mathias Köhl, Head of Particleboard Production at Fritz Egger GmbH & Co. OG.
SICK AppSpace: Freely develop customized applications
In optoelectronic detection, especially in the field of image processing, fully standardized products often have limitations in meeting customers' customized needs.
With the SICK AppSpace ecosystem, SICK provides system integrators and OEMs with the freedom to develop customized applications and user interfaces based on programmable cameras and optical sensors.
With sheet metal conveying speeds reaching up to four meters per second, significant compensation is required when measuring the sheet metal's geometry. "The sheet metal comes out of the press with stress, sometimes warping slightly downwards or upwards. This must be taken into account during measurement. We compensate for this by using lasers at the four corners of the sheet metal and developing an application," describes Markus Gropp, head of Siempelkamp Logistics & Service GmbH, regarding the challenges faced.
“The entire setup isn’t just about four cameras detecting a single edge; anyone could do that,” added Dr. Frank Otto from Siempelkamp. “It involves a lot of proprietary technology.” “Software is the core of the system. But the hardware also has specific prerequisites. Not every camera has that kind of performance, that kind of sensitivity, and that short exposure time. Now we can measure materials moving at speeds up to four meters per second. We have to achieve microsecond-level accuracy in exposure time, and the cameras perform exceptionally well in this regard, as does the shutter technology, so we can get exceptionally clear images even at high speeds,” Dr. Frank Otto from Siempelkamp excitedly stated.
Founded in 1946, SICK has become a highly influential supplier of intelligent sensor solutions after years of development and accumulation. Its products are widely used in various industries, including packaging, food and beverage, machine tools, automotive, logistics, transportation, steel, airports, electronics, and textiles. SICK China currently has branches in Guangzhou, Shanghai, Beijing, Qingdao, and Hong Kong, forming an organizational structure and business network covering all major regions of China.
For more details, please visit www.sickcn.com or call our national customer service hotline at 4000 121 000.
