Cobots and AGV: a Perfect Alliance Focused on Efficiency

INDEVA and Doosan formed a partnership to combine experience and versatility in the creation of mobile collaborative robots, capable of functioning without interruptions. By means of AGV systems, these coots may move to tighten screws or carry out tyre positioning operations.

by Maria Giulia Leone

Ever since 1975, Scaglia INDEVA designs and manufactures solutions for the movement and handling of components and finished products, with the objective of improving ergonomics, safety an productivity in various industrial sectors. These include smart (Liftronic series) and traditional handlers with pneumatic (PN series) drive and control, and automatic guide (AGV) systems subdivided into two types of standard models: INDEVA Tugger and INDEVA Tunnel.
On account of their reliability and of the electronic control technology which makes them compliant with the modern Industry 4.0 scenario, for several years leading companies in the automotive sector – including such brands as Lamborghini, Scania and PSA – have been selecting INDEVA smart handlers and AGVs.

Collaborative applications
Since March 2019 the new INDEVA Cobotics division has been operational. The choice of activating a partnership with Korean multinational Doosan stems from the global quality of these products, which are positioned at the top of the global rankings in the industry in terms of know-how, performances and reliability. Doosan cobots function without any problems next to operators, not requiring confinement in protected cells. Carrying out actions within a space shared with persons is therefore a scenario which is perfectly coherent with Scaglia INDEVA’s engineering and industrial philosophy.
Doosan cobots also guarantee the maximum safety standards, thanks to a technology which makes use of the combined control of two calculation algorithms; these allow the movement of the robotic arm only if results tally. Besides, at the end of the operations assigned to them, the cobot warns the operator, by means of a luminous signal (compliant with the ISO 60204- 1 regulation) that the operation has been completed successfully.
The six loading cells, one for every junction, also ensure a minimum contact force equal to 0.2 N, guaranteeing that the robotic arm will come to an immediate standstill following a light touch by the operator. The very simple tooling operation, even with complex tools, thanks to the 6+6 I/O devices, to the intuitive programming interface with block systems and the cockpit for self-learning, make Doosan cobots ideal collaborators for the modern factory.

Mobile collaborative robots: the integration between cobots and AGVs
With the aim of combining the versatility of Doosan cobots and the company’s consolidated experience in the automotive industry, INDEVA developed a mobile collaborative robot. The union of automated guide vehicle (AGV) systems with Doosan cobots brought forth a robot which can move about and carry out operations such as tightening screws in body assembly stations or positioning tyres. A cobot may work non-stop and, thanks to recharging stations, the AGV ensures a constant charge which does not slow down the work cycle.
Due to production volumes and space constraints, which make it difficult to install bulky traditional robotic systems, this application responds perfectly to the demands of the automotive sector, which often also has o guarantee the maintenance of a clean and tidy corporate image.

Range versatility and concrete applications
The Doosan cobot range is extremely diversified. The M1509 model has a workload capacity of up to 15 kg; the M0617 model has a stroke of 1700 mm; the M0609 model, thanks to its compact characteristics, a 6 kg workload and a 900 mm action range, it is suitable for fast operations in cramped conditions. Finally, the most versatile model in the range, M01013, with a workload of 10 kg and a 1300 mm stroke, easily adapts to many types of applications. According to recent statistics, the use of cobots in the automotive industry brought about a qualitative improvement of the finished product equal to 10%.
The field of application of cobots ranges from picking and depositing to tightening screws, from quality control to welding and even more specific applications such as ironing our car seats before inserting them into the vehicles or gluing upholstery on the car profiles.
Companies which so far used INDEVA collaborative solutions include Poste Italiane, the FCA-Fiat group and the Peugeot group. Cobots – capable of operating in a 4.0 setting, that is, communicating between themselves and with central supervision and control units and therefore participating in the digital coordination of the entire factory – are also ideal for SMEs and in micro-logistics.