The team ITRXcell, composed by the University of Padova, IT+Robotics, STAM and ICPE, is proposing the FLEXICOIL project, aimed at developing a learning-based approach for robotized coils winding, to be used in the electric machines manufacturing industry. Wound coils can be found in several products (motors, generators, sensors) and for a wide range of applications. Smaller lot sizes and higher product flexibility cannot be achieved with conventional winding systems, because they are not flexible enough and manual labour causes high product costs. FLEXICOIL aims at overcoming this drawback by developing a robotic cell for coils winding. Three subsequent sets of activities will allow for developing a reconfigurable interactive manufacturing cell with learning capability, suitable to wind the coils of several kind of electric machines, basing on a simple teaching interface that can be easily used by operators without specific skills in robotics. The solution proposed by FLEXICOIL will be affordable to a wide range of users: from small-medium enterprises (SMEs), producing small batches of motors and frequently changing product designs, to big companies, having a market request of several thousand standard units. This result will be possible by merging together ICPE’s experience in the electric motor field, the research skills of UniPD in the field of human-robot interaction and robot learning, the technology transfer and industrial vision capabilities of IT+R and the ability of STAM in integrating robotic and automation systems. FLEXICOIL will ultimately produce the following scientific and technical benefits:
- Reduction of setup times and cost of the winding machine.
- Increase of product performances and quality.
- Reduction of environmental impact of the production process.
- Winding operations can be easily parallelized.
Project:
Partners:
University of Padova, IT+Robotics, STAM, ICPE
Sector
Machinery & equipment
Keywords
Robotics
