Decuna adapts old equipment and machinery with modern CNCs that improve significantly productivity and reduce downtime and maintenance. Such examples can be found in grinding and cutting machines for several industries.

If the mechanical part of the tooling is in good condition, this investment pays off in a short period of time and implies savings compared to installing brand new machinery.

Retrofit CNC

CNC control unit retrofitting
Positioning machines retrofitting
Lathes, milling cutters, grinding machines
Assembly machinery

Conversion from hydraulic to electrical drives
Control unit update (Siemens, Fagor, Indramat)
CNC programming: Siemens, Fagor, Indramat

Electrical modifications, software adaption and commissioning.

Retrofit PLC

Update or replacement of obsolete PLCs

This robot applies weling paste for automotive coolers. The special welding paste achieves a high quality finish in the parts. After the welding paste is applied, the parts are treated with heat in an oven, that melts the paste and welds the components.

The paste needs to be applied accuracely. There is a high variabilty along the production process, because of the nature of this special paste. It needs to be calibrated after certain periods of time.

This operation was done previously by a skilled worker.

The robot introduces improvements in the process:

• repeatability
• cost save
• automatic paste calibration

Decuna developed this work under the "turnkey" concept. We dealt with mechanical design, supplier management, integration, production start and support all over the process.

Application video

The application can be seen in this video from different angles. A special tooling applies the paste in the inner side of the part, and the robot impregnates the outer side. The complete piece contour is covered with the robot arm movement and the paste nozzle.

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While the final product (steering wheel) is assembled, a mechanic and electric test is being performed. The application also integrates with the ERP at the customer's site providing traceability information.

The tests to be performed are:

• electrical contacts, continuity
• horn
• color,
• product type,
• element presence check
• screw torque check

A barcode reader is veryfing product batch and sequence. The PanelPC is generating the production orders and ensuring product traceability

Similar machines were installed in other locations:

• TRW Timisoara (Romania)
• Dalphi Metal (Portugal)

Decuna developed a system with applied computer vision to check if the grinding operation was performed satisfactorily or not in the gear cages of the halfshafts.

The system has to be able to detect this in less that two seconds, because of strict operation cycle requirements. Nevertheless, the system could meet customer requirements.

The Excello grinding machine does six grinding operations in the halfshaft production process.

This operation needs an accurate control to perform the task correctly, and therefore it has been coupled to a CNC processing unit. Decuna developed the software that allows the machines to work together.

Decuna developed a welding cell with robot ready for different welding processes:

• MIG
  
• MAG
• TIG

The process combines welding with and without added material. A quick change in the tooling sets up the system for a different working configuration. Welding torch change is manual.

Our supply included a specific software, developed by Decuna, that allows the machine to work with 31 different references. The software also integrates the welding devices from two different manufacturers (Fronius and Sunarc)

Decuna integrated the data retrieval of statistic process control data (assembly control parameters and tolerances) in seven halfshaft assembly cells with the ERP at the customer's site.

There were controlled four operations in each machine. The information was distributed and stored in an Oracle database with Decuna applications.

Some PanelPCs were installed to monitorize the process and allow user interaction