Increasingly smaller batch sizes and customized products require a high degree of flexibility in production and assembly. Bosch Rexroth is facilitating digital transformation with the ctrlX AUTOMATION open automation toolkit that includes numerous solutions from ctrlX World. Modular hardware and software solutions for robotics, automation solutions for general tasks like linear motions, and specific applications like battery recycling allow companies to adapt more quickly to new and changing production conditions.
The ctrlX AUTOMATION automation toolkit provides all hardware and software components for highly flexible automation solutions. ctrlX AUTOMATION reduces component and engineering costs by 30 to 50 percent with the help of the Linux operating system, fully open standards, application programming technologies, web-based engineering, and a comprehensive IoT connection.
ctrlX World with new robotics partners
Through co-creation, more and more ctrlX World partner companies are bringing their own strengths and solutions to the ctrlX AUTOMATION suite of automation tools. voraus robotik GmbH, for example, developed a motion solution that makes it possible to control industrial robots with ctrlX AUTOMATION. Programming can be done in a unique no-code style or with an advanced programming environment for customer-specific code. With the FANUC RMI Connector, FANUC Deutschland GmbH also supports the seamless integration of robotics into the ctrlX CORE control environment. Connected FANUC robots can be directly and easily controlled via the ctrlX AUTOMATION data layer.
More processes can be automated
Bosch Rexroth also offers solutions for automating processes that in the past could only be automated with great difficulty. With the help of artificial intelligence, Smart Item Picking recognizes a wide range of modelless objects and can take over picking tasks, for example.
The Smart Flex Effector compensation module gives industrial robots a sense of touch similar to that of a human hand. The module, which was awarded the international technology award HERMES AWARD 2023, combines a sensor system with independently working kinematics in six degrees of freedom, increases the precision of industrial robots and thus offers possibilities Completely new to automation. The compensation element is easy to retrofit and can therefore also be integrated into existing automation systems.
AMR as an out-of-the-box solution
The ACTIVE Shuttle, an autonomous mobile robot (AMR) from Bosch Rexroth, can be deployed quickly and without adapting existing factory infrastructure. It communicates with the master controller via the standardized VDA 5050 interface. The interface facilitates the operation of mixed fleets with tractors, forklifts or AMRs and avoids interoperability issues during daily operations. As a plug-and-go solution, ACTIVE Shuttle automates cyclical transport tasks as well as supplying materials on demand. The comprehensive safety concept meets the requirements of Performance Level d according to EN ISO 13849-1.
Open system solutions for automated guided vehicles
With the software and hardware components of the ROKIT robotics kit and the ctrlX AUTOMATION automation toolkit, Bosch Rexroth offers flexible and modular solutions for autonomous driving in a wide range of vehicle architectures. Manufacturers of automated guided vehicles and autonomous mobile robots, as well as system integrators, can easily implement their knowledge and quickly develop new solutions.
As an open system solution, the modules fit perfectly into higher level control systems. The ROKIT Locator location software automatically and quickly produces maps of the environment and determines the position of the vehicle in real time. No structural measures are needed for this. In combination with the ctrlX AUTOMATION automation toolkit, users can combine in the ctrlX CORE control platform all robotics tasks that were previously shared between PCs, PLCs and safety control systems. This reduces the number of components as well as the space required.
Automation packages for linear axes
Bosch Rexroth meets the market requirements for straight-forward engineering and quick commissioning with the new automation packages for its linear axes and electromechanical cylinders. Servo motors, drive controllers, mains filters and wiring complement the long-lasting mechanical systems. The pre-installed software comes with a commissioning wizard with automatic parameterization of the drive controller as well as a module for the convenient graphical programming of movements. Pre-defined Smart Function Kits for handling as well as pressing and dispensing tasks speed up commissioning further.
Reduce machine development times with Nexeed Automation
Co-exhibitor Bosch Connected Industry will present the automation platform Nexeed Automation, a software solution that has been used at Bosch for years and is now also available externally. Machines can be quickly configured and commissioned via the control-independent development environment. Simple device connection, modular engineering through reusable PLC code and the automatically generated HMI ensure short development times. A 3D model of the machine can be created using the CAD data. The machine can be tested and virtually commissioned. Machine development times can thus be reduced by up to 50 percent. Thanks to the assistance systems Virtual Assist and Cycle Time Assist, machine operators can quickly correct errors and monitor and optimize the machine’s performance. Both are available as apps in the ctrlX Store from Bosch Rexroth.
Battery recycling on an industrial scale
At automatica, Bosch Rexroth will also present the first industrial automation solution for the deep discharge of high-power batteries in order to allow recycling. Thanks to the solution, a process that used to take 24 hours now takes less than 15 minutes. The TS 5 transfer system transports battery cells of different sizes and types from various manufacturers between the diagnostic, discharging and dismantling stations. After contacting, a modular solution from the automation toolkit ctrlX AUTOMATION discharges the battery cells in the discharging station. The discharging equipment automates the initial inspection, the patented deep discharging process with chemical inactivation and the final check. By recycling the batteries, up to 95 percent of the chemical elements can be fed back into the battery production process.