Wireless solutions are the new trend. There is no other new technology that has changed our lives in the past years more fundamentally than the wireless phone, commonly called mobile phone.
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What has become the standard in the consumer goods sector is now setting out to revolutionize industrial manufacturing. The new wireless proximity switch from ABB opens up new opportunities.
At first sight, the assembly line for protective motor switches in hall 4 of ABB in Heidelberg, Germany, does not differ from any other assembly. In the new area of the plant, on roughly 12 square meters shielded by Plexiglass windows, a gripper grabs structural components in intervals of one second and places them in pre-assembled protective motor switches forwarded on a work piece holder system. Only at closer inspection, laymen recognize a difference: The usual cable spaghetti is gone. How is this possible? A machine, moved by ghosts? Without cables, without power?
Safe and reliable
“The machine is our reference model for wireless proximity switches,” explains Olaf Maus, responsible for the manufacturing plans for protective motor switches. The main attraction of the unit: The power supply for the 15 wireless proximity switches does not require cables but works via an electromagnetic field. The communication between sensors and control system of the unit is also ensured on a wireless basis. The advantages are obvious: “The manufacturing systems engineer was able to plan without having to take into consideration cable runs. Restrictions due to cable requirements of movable machine parts or robots in manufacturing cells are a thing of the past,” says Wolfgang Zimmermann, product manager. Furthermore, production becomes much more reliable and safe. “Cable failures, cable wear or faulty cabling are also a thing of the past.”
International teamwork
It all began in the fall of 1998. ABB-engineers asked themselves how ABB-products could benefit from wireless technology. “First we defined the basic requirements, then we distributed the development jobs on a group level,” remembers Zimmermann, who joined the team in Spring 2000. ABB’s research center in Norway was supposed to develop the communication technology, colleagues in Switzerland the sensor head, and the task of the German researchers in Ladenburg was to find a solution for the energy supply. Market requirements were defined, and as with all research and development projects, the cooperation had to take place under stringent confidentiality rules.
Success all around
At the Hanover Fair 2002, ABB presented the new installation system for the first time ever to the experts. The Wallstreet Journal Europe Innovation Award 2002 went to the wireless manufacturing unit. At this year’s Hanover Fair, an ABB robot demonstrated the wireless proximity switch in action in a manufacturing cell. 
“Today’s customers want references to prove that a new product runs smoothly under realistic conditions of use,” explains Zimmermann. Nine months ago, the 47-year-old engineer was looking for an application to implement the new system. He found a solution in his own company: Olaf Maus and the colleagues from the STO machine construction department had built a new manufacturing cell by the end of this May and integrated it in the unit to manufacture the protective motor switch MS-116. “As part of the rationalization efforts, we added a pallet handling unit to the final assembly of the MS-116",” describes Maus the field of operation. Twelve versions with different nominal currents can be assembled at a clocking rate of one second. “All former manual operations are now carried out automatically. We are considerably more flexible and can even produce very small lots,” adds Maus, satisfied with the results. Furthermore, since the start-up of the unit, it has run virtually failure-free.
Sales Start in October
The sales start for standard versions in Germany, Italy, Sweden, France and the U.S. is planned for Mid October. Until then, advertising campaigns are working to attract the attention of potential customers. Machine construction engineers and customers from the automotive industry are the main targets. Those interested in the manufacturing line in Heidelberg can view it in action via a web cam to be installed by mid-October (www.abb.de/stotzkontakt).
For the first year, five-digit sales figures are expected.