September 2014 Archives

When machine devices contain more actuators (Air cylinder, electric motor, etc.) and sensors, wiring and plumbing layout designs are important affecting (1) machine reliability, (2) maintainability, (3) appearance. Especially the base plate of an automation device requiring layout holes needs screw design. Explanation is based on the Bingo Machine.

Importance of wiring, plumbing layout of automated machines.

・From [Photo 1], air actuator related components are arranged together in the back side of the machine. This is effective for efficient plumbing and air pressure adjustments.

・[Photo 2] is an example of wiring layout holes and the cover in the back side of the machine. Design of wiring holes on the base plate is required.

・The edges of base plate holes will need to be chamfered, or covered with plastic to avoid damages on wiring.

Display and control panel placements and supporting structure designs are important items in respect to machine controllability (ease of operation), safety, and the appearance.

Since the design of the display and control panel will need to be incorporated into main frame design, they can be considered as parts of the main frame design.

Display and control panel designs of general purpose automated machines and dedicated automated machines are quite different.

In case of dedicated automation machines, the number of control switches are reduced as much as possible and designs are dedicated in order to avoid the controls being complex.

For general purpose automation machines, the display and controls are designed with redundant functionalities in order to support many different modes of controls. This difference will be largely reflected on the machine costs.

It will be helpful to look at the example of the machine tools for design trends in the control panels. The machine itself and the control panel form and layout are designed based on the standpoint of human engineering.

In addition, there are trends in reducing the keyboard operations and use touch sensing on the display for improved operability ([Photo 1][Photo 2]).