Behind the Scenes: Bringing the Factory Floor to the Auto Show Floor

CANTON, Mich., Feb. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- How do you display the inner workings of a 450 pound engine? You don't. You hire two robots to do it for you. Eco and Boost, the two ABB robots from Ford's Cleveland Stamping Plant #1 presented a series of engine components including turbo chargers, fuel pumps, an engine control module, intake and exhaust manifolds as well as three versions of the EcoBoost engine. In order to ensure visitors to the North American International Auto Show at Cobo Center were protected ABB and Ford employed Pilz Automation Safety L.P. to develop a safety concept.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100211/DE53700)

This was the first time an active robot cell was used at NAIAS. The safety concept utilized many levels of safety including "Safe Move" technology from ABB coupled with SafetyEYE™ from Pilz. Set up of the entire cell was completed in about five weeks including the building of two robot cells and all design, equipment installation and wiring. It was fully operational on the floor of ABB prior to shipment to Cobo Center where final installation and debugging was performed.

The robot control ran with ATI tool changer and end effector safety monitored by PSS 3000 to pick up parts and engines to present them to the audience. The Pilz PSS3000 was connected to the I/O proximity switches which sensed the part position to provide safe handling of the parts. PITmode and PSENslock from Pilz were integrated into the PSS3000 to provide access control to the cell doors. The PITmode was the result of a joint effort with Ford Powertrain Engineers and Pilz Development. The PITmode is an operating mode selector switch which provides two functions in one unit, the selection of operating mode and authorization control for machine access.

Inevitably an endeavor of this magnitude has its obstacles and this display was no different. "This type of robot cell has never been built for an auto show before. It took coordination between not only suppliers that normally work together but also the creative side including the scripting of actors in sync with the robots. Providing safety for many unforeseen issues which are not normally seen a plant environment in addition to a tight design and build schedule, required many decisions to be made on the fly," said Rick Pryce, business development manager for Pilz Automation Safety L.P.

For more information about Pilz Automation Safety L.P. or any of the products used in the display visit www.pilz.us.

SOURCE Pilz Automation Safety L.P.