Safeguarding a Production Line of Riveting Machines with Multi-Spindle Heads

The company KMT-Vogt e.K. in the Southern Black Forest relies on safety sensors and safety controllers from Safety System Products based in Spaichingen to safeguard its 14-spindle system for the production of power strips.

Challenge: Exemplary Development and Market Adaptation

For years, the company KMT-Vogt Niet- und Fördertechnik e.K. from Villingen-Schwenningen has been developing and producing orbital riveting machines and conveyor belts according to customer requirements. Since then, in addition to the production of series machines, they face new challenges every day when it comes to planning, developing, and manufacturing customized riveting systems. They have a broad position; whether for the automotive, medical, or electrical engineering industry, the range of already implemented projects is extensive. Therefore, it was hardly surprising that a well-known manufacturer of power strips approached KMT-Vogt with a custom request.

Solution: Greater Flexibility and Higher Safety Requirements

Enclosures for power strips can be riveted on the 14-spindle system specially developed for the end customer. For this purpose, the operator places either 3-way or 6-way enclosures into the slide and starts the process.

Figure 1: 14-spindle system with an inserted power strip

The slide retracts and the cylinders press the multi-spindle head downwards via a toggle lever. The spindles, which are driven by a three-phase motor, then orbitally rivet the plastic pins, thus ensuring a stable enclosure. The position of the slide is checked via the "Safix" non-contact RFID safety sensor from Safety System Products to guarantee operator safety. The sensor's high switching distance of 12mm is of particular importance, as this allowed it to be installed easily in a concealed manner. Another advantage is the narrow actuator, which wastes hardly any space due to its flat and slim design. With its high coding level according to EN ISO 14119, the sensor also offers high protection against tampering. Once taught-in to an actuator, the sensor can only be actuated by it. Thanks to non-contact RFID technology, there is no mechanical wear on the sensor itself, which guarantees a long service life. The OSSD signals also allow the detection of short circuits and cross-circuits. SAFIX can be easily connected via an 8-pin M8 plug and thus perfectly integrated into the existing environment. Diagnosis is user-friendly via a three-color LED display, enabling fast maintenance and commissioning.

Figure 2: The orbital riveting process in full swing

Figure 3: The concealed installed
RFID safety sensor Safix

Modular Safety Controller SAFIX from ReeR Grows with Its Tasks

In the case of KMT-Vogt, the SAFIX is connected to the Mosaic safety controller from the Italian safety manufacturer ReeR, whose products are also distributed by SSP in Germany. The MOSAIC is a modular, configurable safety system for protecting personnel at machines or plants. It is suitable for monitoring various safety systems such as light curtains, laser scanners, safety sensors, and many more by using just a single main module. With a width of 22.5mm, the M1 main module offers 8 safe inputs, 2 OSSD output pairs, 4 test outputs for sensor monitoring, 2 programmable signal outputs, and 2 inputs for monitoring external expansions. If the inputs and outputs of the MOSAIC main module are not sufficient, various expansion modules are available to the user. KMT-Vogt Managing Director Lars Schuler particularly values this modular structure, because in special purpose machinery manufacturing, no two machines are alike. Thus, depending on the application, the controller must be able to grow flexibly. Special expansion modules are available for specific applications such as speed monitoring or bus communication. These are simply coupled with each other via a backplane bus connector and programmed using the free "MOSAIC Safety Designer" software.

Figure 4: The yellow safety controller MOSAIC with M1 main module and MI8 expansion module

Marcel Aulila and Lars Schuler in front of the 14-spindle system

Figure 5: Marcel Aulila from SSP (left) and Lars Schuler from KMT-Vogt (right) in front of the 14-spindle system

Satisfied Users

The customer KMT-Vogt and the end customer are very satisfied. At SSP, the customer values the good service and the wide portfolio of diverse safety products. For him, the MOSAIC safety controller is the ideal solution because its small design saves space in the control cabinet for standard applications and it simply grows along with special applications.

Further information can be found at www.safety-products.de