Peter Nöbauer, project manager at the BMW Group plant in Steyr, is extremely satisfied with the decision to integrate a cobot into connecting rod production. This results in fewer production downtimes and fewer rejects. The employees have also quickly accepted the collaborative ABB robot. © ABB

The plant in Steyr, Austria, is the largest engine plant within the BMW Group. It produces 3-, 4- and 6-cylinder petrol and diesel engines as well as an increasing number of e-mobility components for BMW and Mini brand vehicles. At peak times, the plant produces up to 5,500 engines per day. The scope of production also includes connecting rods. The connecting rods have to be transported from one machine to another within the production process for further processing, which was previously achieved using a so-called curve conveyor. During transportation through the curve, however, the parts could get stuck, collide with each other or get scratched.

In order to optimize the process, the experts at the BMW Group plant in Steyr worked together with the Austrian system integrator Nomotec. The aim was to implement the idea of a linear two-belt interlinking system that does not require a curve. In this solution, a robot removes the parts from a conveyor belt and carefully places them on another belt.

But which robot is best suited to this task? The choice was between a conventional industrial robot and a collaborative robot, or cobot for short. An industrial robot would require safety barriers such as fences or enclosures. However, there was not enough space around the machines to accommodate these. It also had to be taken into account that human workers would occasionally have to move the connecting rods from one conveyor belt to another. With this in mind, a collaborative robot was quickly chosen. This is because cobots can work together with humans safely and without any bulky safety barriers. This also saves space on the production floor.

Handling with Cobot

After a thorough analysis, those responsible at the BMW Group plant in Steyr decided to implement the Gofa cobot from ABB to handle the parts. The maintenance team had already had very good experiences with ABB robots, which have been in use there for a long time. The decision to use another ABB robotic solution brought additional benefits in that spare parts can be ordered and assembled more easily. Furthermore, the use of similar systems makes it easier to commission, operate and maintain the cobot.

Thanks to Robot Studio, ABB's simulation and programming software, planning and setting up the new robot was particularly easy. With Robot Studio, the robot can be programmed and optimized on the computer and in the cloud without having to access the real robot.

Thomas Nowotny, project manager at Nomotec, emphasizes that RobotStudio was already used in the early bidding phase: "We used RobotStudio to check the cycle times of the applications. We also used it to determine how much floor space was required and how the robot could be combined with other machines. RobotStudio was later also used for programming and writing the code, as well as for checking the robot's safety functions."

Nowotny continues: "This was our first cobot that we integrated into a real application. Thanks to the support of and cooperation with ABB, it was very easy to install and safely configure the robot. The decision to use a cobot also made a lot of sense because we had to worry less about the safety of the machine compared to an industrial robot."

More flexible production

One of the biggest advantages of the cobot is that it can handle all types of connecting rod in the plant. Previously, the BMW Group plant in Steyr had to convert the interlinking system to enable it to handle different types of connecting rod. This can now be achieved by simply reprogramming the ABB robot. Thanks to different program configurations, it can grip different connecting rods weighing up to 600 grams. "The sensitivity of the ABB Gofa cobot is also impressive," explains Nowotny. "It also has a preconfigured interface that we were able to use to easily connect a gripper from our partner. This allows it to handle the complex geometries of the connecting rods."

Without any safety fences, the employees can also move the connecting rods manually if necessary. "Since the robot was installed on site, there have been no machine stoppages due to changeovers or possible malfunctions in the line," says Peter Nöbauer, project manager at the BMW Group plant in Steyr.

The saved floor space is another advantage of the cobot. The current system takes up around two to three square meters, whereas the company would have needed an additional five square meters of space with a conventional industrial robot. The free space allows employees to move around the plant without any problems.

Speaking of employees: They have accepted the robot well at the plant. "At the beginning, our employees didn't really know what to expect," says Nöbauer. "But once they saw how the robot works, they were enthusiastic and impressed. They are really aware of the benefits for the plant."

The BMW Group plant in Steyr quickly recognized the potential of the cobot and was even ABB's first Gofa customer in Europe. The experts at the engine plant are currently investigating which other production activities could be taken over by cobots.