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COVER STORY 26 HYDRAULICS & PNEUMATICS March 2020 www.hpmag.co.uk offer solutions without compromise,” explains Mann. “The different type of robots we work with include delta robots, collaborative Robots (cobots), 6-axis robots, cartesian robots and autonomous intelligent vehicles.” In the area concerning the automation of the assembly, AMP Automation is working with Metal Work and Universal/Schneider Robotic Systems in an alliance agreement to developed different applications and solutions for ease of connection. “These types of robots integrate perfectly with the handling products of the V-Lock series, marked by the fact that they can be very easily assembled, disassembled and reconfigured, ensuring speed of assembly and cost reductions on design time,” says Mann. EB80 valve islands As the world moves increasingly towards Industry 4.0 and fieldbus connectivity for diagnostic feedback capability of the machines performance, AMP Automation has ensured all its machine designs are following this direction with Metal Work’s EB80 valve island. The capability of this valve island, which is both Atex- and UL- approved, has been designed with Industry 4.0 compatibility. “This mirrors the vision and focus of AMP Automation’s engineering design team; to take the capability to control a full machine’s pneumatic equipment and digital I/O’s through one valve island,” says Mann. Maintenance and diagnostics Mann adds that during the product development of AMP Automation’s machines, the company was pleased that Metal Work had installed significant effort on reducing faults via failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA), and the use of the most advanced simulation tools and extensive laboratory and field testing. “As an example, the EB 80 was designed to be powered electrically with a large voltage range from 10.8V to 31.2V DC, in order to prevent surge or low voltage issues that can often transpire in industrial environments and affect system behaviour,” Mann explains. “Despite this, we are aware of the consequences of stoppages for maintenance and have included powerful diagnostic functions for troubleshooting and replacing damaged parts, again which is backed up by the EB80 valve island.” EB 80 can control various field signals AMP Automation has developed diagnostic feedback in all its machine designs and in the EB 80 system. This supports the company’s requirement to monitor pneumatic valve islands continuously and flag issues in various ways. All EB80 multi-pin or fieldbus- controlled versions have an error LED for the electrical connection modules in addition to warning LEDs for each individual valve. The LED system shows solenoid valve status when there is a short circuit, a valve is missing or malfunctioning, surges, insufficient voltage, and interruptions to electrical signal transmission. The presence of a fault is transmitted to the island control system, and in the case of a fieldbus connection the type of fault is also shown. Each valve base has dedicated memory to collect diagnostic and operational data (type of fault, number of cyc les implemented, duration of activation time) for each valve for up to 50 years of operation. The user interface is particularly convenient to facilitate the work of technicians and maintenance engineers. Mann explains that since the company began working with Metal Work back in 2007, all the machines installed throughout this period have received positive feedback from customers for their life longevity and effectiveness. “With this track record, we will certainly continue to work with Metal Work on various projects going forward,” he says. Mann concludes: “The ultimate goals of both AMP Automation and Metal Work are to ensure that we, along with the UK manufacturing industry in general, are at the forefront of technology to protect all our business interests from lower quality but cheaper third world suppliers.” EB80 valve island. Compact palletiser.