FLEXIBLE EXHAUST SYSTEM PRODUCTION

The automation of a production line for exhaust systems enables Turck to demonstrate the flexibility of its BL20 multiprotocol gateway in conjunction with the IO-Link-capable TBIL hubs

The Turkish system integrator Teknodrom Robotik ve Otomasyon is planning and implementing the construction of a production line in Turkey for one of the leading manufacturers of exhaust systems. The greatest challenge in the project was providing the required level of flexibility for the line, which needed a variable, particularly robust and EMI resistant automation technology due to the welding applications in place. In its search for a supplier, the company came across Turck. With its extensive portfolio of sensors, connection technology, and I/O systems, Turck could easily meet the demanding requirements involved.

Tailored solution: IO-Link, multiprotocol Ethernet, and I/Os for many inputs and outputs
Flexibility was the greatest challenge in planning the new production line for exhaust silencers
Turck's IO-Link portfolio ranges from sensor to connection technology and I/O solutions

Flexible Muffler Production

One of the leading manufacturers of exhaust systems chose Turck's BL20 modular I/O system in order to provide a highly flexible I/O solution. A special feature of the new production line is that fieldbus systems have to communicate with different controllers – an ideal application field for Turck's BL20 modular IP20 I/O system. The multiprotocol gateways, which feature the necessary I/O slices, speak PROFINET, EtherNet/IP, and Modbus TCP. This enables the BL20 system to bring different types of signal to the controller and also link different valve blocks on the production line. The system integrator, Teknodrom Robotik ve Otomasyon, was responsible for the installation and integration of the entire automation solution. Teknodrom spoke to Turck about the sensor and I/O requirements for the new production line already in the design phase.

IO-Link ensures efficient production

The user benefits enormously from the flexibility that IO-Link provides for the requirements of this system. Turck's BL20-4IOL gateways with IO-Link master modules and the IO-Link capable IP67-TBIL I/O hubs bring up to 16 switching signals from the field to the control cabinet via a single four-wire cable. The TBIL functions as an IO-Link slave, bringing 16 binary signals to the IO-Link master on the BL20 gateway. This considerably reduces wiring effort and wiring errors. The alternative passive junctions with large multipole cables are more expensive and time consuming.

Flexibility with IO-Link

Another benefit of IO-Link in the production line becomes apparent when different tools are changed. “The clamping devices for the products have to be changed frequently in the plant. The IO-Link modules for BL20 offer a high level of flexibility. "During the installation, we can easily adapt the BL20 system by adding or reducing the number of signals," says Selim Çağatay, the control technician responsible at the system integrator. "With every additional expansion or upgrade of the plant we benefit from this flexibility.”

Efficiency through decentralized IP67 I/Os

Even at the production lines for MIG (metal inert gas), the smart IO-Link solution is significantly simpler, faster, and more economical to implement than multipole cable systems. It also makes a major contribution to quality assurance. All signals are collected via Turck's TBIL IP67 I/O hubs and then forwarded to the BL20 system via a single four-wire line. The IO-Link master and multiprotocol gateway handle the additional communication with the controllers via Ethernet. Thanks to the digital IO-Link transmission, the user can save on the expense of shielded cables and other EMC measures.

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