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Task
The busy Aarau, Switzerland plant of global medical technology specialist Smith+Nephew wanted to automate one of its core production processes: the machining of titanium hip stem implants. Previously, a machine operative would load and unload implants from crates to and from a CNC turning centre. While the idea was to increase production throughput with the installation of an industrial robot, it was equally important to maintain workplace safety.

Solution
Smith+Nephew turned to its long-standing automation partner, Robotec Solutions, an official FANUC system integrator for over 25 years. Robotec recommended the use of a FANUC LR-10iA/10 compact 6-axis industrial robot with 10 kg payload and 1101 mm reach. Purpose-designed for machine-tending operations, this lightweight, fully covered robot is ideal for small automation cells. Importantly, the automation solution put forward by Robotec included FANUC’s Dual Check Safety (DCS) technology to keep factory employees safe.

Result
With the FANUC machine-tending robot in place, Smith+Nephew is enjoying a 45% increase in throughput of machined hip implants. In addition, FANUC’s DCS system means the company can create a virtual safety fence during cell operation that ensures the safety of workers through the control of movements, positions and speeds.

About Smith+Nephew Manufacturing

With more than 18,000 employees, Smith+Nephew is a leading global medical technology company specialising in fields that include orthopaedics, sports medicine, ENT (ear, nose and throat) and advanced wound management solutions. The company’s Aarau, Switzerland manufacturing facility produces an innovative range of hip and knee implants, as well as robotic and digital technologies, and internal and external fixation systems. In total, the 250-employee plant produces over 500,000 products a year.

Joined at the hip: 20+ years of FANUC support at implant specialist

Beat Schwarzentruber, Manufacturing Director at the Aarau, Switzerland manufacturing plant of Smith+Nephew, sets out his guiding principle on robotics: “We prefer simple, incremental automation solutions that we can implement quickly and easily as these represent a major benefit for us.

Like many previous installations, this ethos provided the basis for a new automation project, as Project Manager Patrizia Rieser explains: “We were looking for a load/unload solution that would enable us to improve a core machining operation with the help of a fast and stable industrial robot.

As a user of FANUC robots for over 20 years, the Aarau plant is a long-standing partner of official FANUC system integrator Robotec Solutions. The objective was to automate the previous manual loading and unloading of titanium hip stem implants to and from a CNC turning centre. Robotec recommended the FANUC LR-10iA/10, a compact 6-axis industrial robot that is purpose-designed for machine-tending operations. Notably, the automation solution included FANUC’s Dual Check Safety (DCS) technology for workspace safety monitoring.

Aron Spigaglia, Project Manager at Robotec Solutions AG, says: “We use FANUC products because of their inherent reliability and high build standards. With FANUC technologies we managed to implement full automation for the machining of hip implants at Aarau.

Adds Rieser: “We have been using FANUC robots for over 20 years with complete satisfaction. The robots are both flexible and reliable.

Indeed, the first FANUC robots on site at Aarau are still in operation, which speaks volumes about their reliability in demanding production environments.

Key to the safety aspect of the new automated machining cell is FANUC DCS which, supported by laser sensors, allows Smith+Nephew to create a virtual safety fence that controls movements, positions and speeds for complete workplace safety monitoring. The entire area monitoring system is dedicated to safe collaboration between robots and humans.

Among the principal challenges of this particular installation was determining the position of crates containing hip implants arriving at the automated cell. The boxes tend to be at slightly different angles and heights. With no humans allowed inside the virtual safety fence during operation, Robotec instead devised a method of scanning the boxes with a laser to determine their exact dynamic positions.

With the automated system we have increased our production throughput of the hip implant machining operation by 45%,” states Reiser. “This enables us to work autonomously for four hours every day.

Spigaglia’s closing remark relates to how easily Smith+Nephew can manage the automated cell post-installation: “One of the biggest advantages with FANUC products is ease-of-use. A short training session is all it takes to make adjustments independently.