Automation Canada - Automation in 2021 - 17

EIGHT AND EIGHT ARE NOT SIXTEEN
Xelity switches can reach their communication limits when large
amounts of data are involved. This is where Murrelektronik's Tree16 TX
unmanaged switch comes into play. The 16-port unmanaged switch has
two Gigabit Ethernet uplink ports and 14 Fast Ethernet downlink ports.
Dennis Zimmer, Murrelektronik's Product Manager - Switches,
these 16-port
explains the
difference between
switches and
competitor's solutions, which consist of two interconnected 8-port
switches: " You would think that eight and eight are sixteen. But that is
definitely not the case in this instance. The connection between the two
8-port switches is not designed to handle large amounts of data. Our
device is a pure 16-port switch with a matching controller chip. The
composite switches may be less expensive, but our 16-port switch is
reliable and has the necessary power. " Marco Balzuweit of
HandlingTech emphasizes, " We haven't had any failures with
Murrelektronik's 16-port switches. "
Especially in special machine solutions, where several large robot and
processing modules are networked together, there are always cases
where the Gigabit ports on the unmanaged 16-port switches are
needed. One example is a large system for machining shaſts, where a
machine tool is positioned between two robot cells from
HandlingTech.
The first robot station is tasked with removing the workpieces from a
grid box and loading the machine tool. The workpieces are fed to the
system via a grid box in which the shaſts are randomly placed. The robot
uses path planning based on a point cloud to grip the components. A
point cloud is generated based on data from a vision system above the
grid box to calculate the best approach point for the robot gripper. The
robot, equipped with an interchangeable gripper system, picks up the
component with a magnetic gripper and deposits it on a clipboard,
where it is aligned. It then loads the tool to machine the part. The robot
in the subsequent cell unloads the machined shaſts from the tool and
packs the parts directly into cartons with a blister layer.
The camera data is processed autonomously on a separate computer.
CANADIAN AUTOMATION
In this system, the 16-port switches are responsible for the
communication between the robot systems. The two gigabit ports
ensure communication with the higher-level controller, while the
remaining 100 Mbit ports collect data from the various participants in
the cell.
STRONG ALSO IN SUPPORT
Henning Schultz also sees Murrelektronik as an asset in another
important area: support. " If I have a technical question or a problem, I
can get a product engineer or an application engineer on the phone
quickly. In special machine construction, where orders are also won via
delivery time, immediate response is important. When I need quick
help, I get it at Murrelektronik. In addition, Murrelektronik only releases
market-ready products. "
Murrelektronik Product Manager Dennis Zimmer responds: " When a
product is close to completion, we take it to customers to get their
feedback. We presented the Xelity switch to HandlingTech in advance.
Our customers know the product requirements best and tell us what is
good and where something can be improved. It's kind of a joint
development with the customers. "
VOLUME 3, ISSUE 4
18
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