Automated assembly in the clean room

The assignment: automate an assembly process originally performed by human hands, but without the ability to redesign the individual product parts and within a limited space under clean room conditions. Total Productivity took up the challenge and developed the desired assembly machine for the pharmaceutical company Curium. Through regular consultation with the customer and performing robot simulations early in the design process, the technical translation has now been made and the result is to the customer's complete satisfaction.

For many years Curium has had a product in its portfolio that has a very distinguished role in nuclear medicine. This complex product consists of several dozen parts that are assembled under cleanroom conditions. Until recently, assembly was done manually by four people sitting - shoulder to shoulder - at a table. At a good time, the company was eager to switch to automatic assembly. Total Productivity, developer and builder of production systems, took up the challenge.

Frozen product

And a challenge it was. First, it was not possible to redesign the individual components to make them suitable for automatic assembly. This was because otherwise Curium would have to go through lengthy certification processes again. So the product was "frozen," so to speak. Vincent Bijman, Productivity Consultant: "As a system integrator, with all the possibilities of realizing mechanical, electrical and software solutions in-house, we specialize in converting customer demand into a technical solution. For this, it is important to stay in constant contact with the customer in order to keep expectations sharp and tackle any miscommunication regarding requirements and wishes as quickly as possible."

Limited space

Based on regular consultation, the technical specifications of the product and an impressive document with procedures on assembly and checkpoints, Total Productivity developed the machine. In addition to the fixed product, a challenge lay in the limited clean room space available. The machine had to fit where four people previously sat at a table. Bijman: "For this purpose, we started early in the development phase to simulate the robot movements required for all assembly and control steps. We assumed two robots that could perform a maximum of two steps in immediate succession. Ranging from pick&place and holding to pressing, flanging and applying glue. Here it is important that they do not get in each other's way, nor do they have to wait on each other. Once these movements were clear and fit, the rest of the machine was developed around this, so to speak."

In doing so, the company had to take into account the aforementioned cleanroom conditions. That means: choosing cleanroom-certified components that do not release particles during use. Also, all mechanical parts are located as much as possible below the machine to further reduce the risk of contamination. Bijman: "This is our first fully automatic machine to be placed in a cleanroom and it was very pleasant that we could fall back on our regular suppliers in making the right choices. Among others, our robot supplier Fanuc itself has a lot of experience with these applications and provided maximum support."

Rotating cable guide

Furthermore, the company developed in-house a solution for concealing the pneumatic hoses. Due to the many movements of the robot, there was a risk that they would wrap around the arm. Furthermore, they could be a possible source of particles when they rubbed against other components. The solution was found in the development of a kind of drum in which the hoses remain neatly attached. Moreover, by putting this drum under negative pressure, no particles can enter the assembly area. Bijman concludes, "A fine project that, through good communication and available knowledge and experience, led to a wonderful result."