Battery Builders (BBI), an industrial lead-acid battery manufacturer based in Naperville, Illinois, made the decision to modernise its building, and it seemed natural to include its six-station COS (Cast-On-Strap) equipment in those upgrades. It installed a Kawasaki high payload robot with a robotic cell consisting of six process stations working with robotic integrator MAC Engineering.
BBI has suffered recurring equipment failures on its manually operated COS machine. Causing significant production delays caused by the outdated machine.
BBI had a high level of contamination exposure in the operation of physically stacking the battery plates and packing the plates into jars which produced more airborne lead dust.
Automating this process was critical to understand how automation improved their workplace and not just their financial performance.
BBI had to set up a machine with the right precision to reliably align 300 pounds of battery plates up to 500 times a day in order to properly manufacture its lead-acid batteries. The batteries had to be able to be brushed off their end connections, dipped in molten lead and packaged in a plastic jar, among other things. BBI needed a flexible robot to carry out this extensive list of specific tasks.
The company’s main automation goals were to increase overall plant efficiency and battery cell production levels. In addition, BBI realised that its staff would be more beneficial in other parts of the production plant. BBI quickly saw that the benefits of its newly installed Kawasaki robot were reflected in the calibre of its finished product. It sought to reduce the number of staff needed to operate the old-fashioned COS procedure, which required nine or ten people.
The robot intervenes to position the battery plates and make sure they are level, after having manually placed them on the conveyor. With this new method, workers no longer have to lift the plates from the floor, but slide them sideways on a conveyor, which is more ergonomic.
The robot then picks up the plates and cleans the material residues from the end connections, or terminals, with a coarse bristle brush. The robot then subjects them to a melting process. The terminals are then dipped in molten lead and finally in tin. The robot inserts the battery plates into their plastic cases in the last step, known as the case removal process.
The robot then picks up the plates and cleans any remaining material from the end connections, or terminals, with a coarse bristle brush. The robot then subjects them to a melting process. The terminals are then dipped in molten lead and tin. The robot inserts the battery plates into their plastic cases in the last step, known as the case removal process.
Despite having a long arm reach and little dead space, Kawasaki’s ZX300S robots have a large work envelope and can handle weights of up to 300 kg. In addition, they offer a high repeatability of 0.3 mm, making them perfect for applications requiring precision and heavy loads. For BBI’s layout, which required the robot to be able to reach multiple machines at different heights, these attributes together provided the ideal answer.
Kawasaki’s latest B and CX series of high payload robots offer even better repeatability, from 0.06 to 0.08 mm. Both series contain hollow arm structures that allow the robot to be dressed from the inside. This capability speeds installation by reducing the time required for digital engineering and manufacturing line construction, and reduces the possibility of interference with other robots or auxiliary devices.
MAC Engineering, one of the world’s most valued integrators for this type of application, was one of the options presented to BBI.
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