How to destroy the historical view of the layout of the heat treatment line
I already thought that there is not much that can be invented in our field. Err, we’re still at the beginning. ECM and its robotics department led me to this idea. Do you know what a classic line for multi-purpose hardening looks like? We all know it well. Furnace lined up in one line, with tracks between them, and a loading and unloading trolley rides on them. A fence around. The question is. Can anything be changed about it? Can this parallel structure be changed?
Until recently I would have thought not. But the opposite is true. It is similar to this video.
Artificial intelligence controls thousands of shipping mini-containers while sorting mail. And how to transfer it to the heat treatment plant? For example, like this:
This loader/unloader has no limitations, so it can handle furnace batches up to 2000 kg in weight and up to 4.5 m in height. All in auto mode, just by programming the scheme that at time T1 from location M1 it should arrive at location M2 at time T2.
The heat treatment operation can then look completely different. The position of the furnaces is not tied to a linear solution and can thus be arranged in a different configuration than we know today, while ensuring full automation. Support from artificial intelligence is necessary, at least such a loader must not run over us.
And why such a solution? We can also have, for example, such a loader/unloader, which is closer to our standard concept or idea of how it should look.
But then we have to operate everything at the same height, the third dimension of the heat treatment shop room cannot be used. And since we want that, the above AMR_F702 type device is ideal. In my lifetime, I have seen heat treatment lines where there are, for example, 50 waiting positions. That’s a huge amount of space. If we use a two-story foundation, then the area will be half, with three floors, then a third. And the same at the exit, the line must be able to work all weekend in automatic mode, so we also have to take care of the goods that will be finished and not inspected.
If you are interested, please contact me or Eric Villard, c.villard@ecmtech.fr. There will always be a solution.
Jiří Stanislav
January 27, 2024
