Material Handler (MH) Interface

A dedicated material handler attends to the three-machine work cell, comprising of the SL20, VF3 and the VFOE, in the CIM lab. It is proposed to introduce an ABB 2400L robot for the purpose. However, the work cell is currently being tended to by a human material handler. The executer directs the material handler to his tasks by means of suitable interfaces. Appropriate LED’s direct the handler to pick or put a part from their respective locations. The inputs to the Big_E are given by means of limit switches, installed in the buffers and the doors of the machines. The limit switches are normally open and the presence of a part in the buffer or the action of closing the door closes the circuit thus sending an input into the I/O board. Care should be taken to have the doors of the machine closed at all times during the implementation of the system. However, the clear signal from the doors would only be sent to the I/O board only when the doors of the machine are closed, thereby ensuring safety of the human material handler. The picks and puts from the machine for the handler are non synchronous and will be converted to the synchronous mode for the robot.

Material Handler Interface

Limit Switches for Door Closed Signal