Cibo is blowing out 75 proud candles next year. A unique opportunity to reflect on the core DNA that sustains and guides the firm to this day. Although "standing still" is not really part of Cibo's vocabulary. Just recently, for example, the company resolutely went for a completely new department: Cibo Robotics should soon be the benchmark of an autonomous, fully robotized, and above all high-quality sanding process that has no equal in the industry. We spoke with Bart Strouven, managing director of Cibo Robotics.
Bart Strouven: "For years we have been in very close contact with the end users of our barn solutions. And there we have been hearing some clear, but very striking trends for quite some time. In particular, more and more companies are noticing a decline in process experience in sanding. The sanding specialist is quietly becoming a white blackbird, or is simply no longer found."
This problem prompted Cibo to consider a solution, whereupon the idea of a fully automatic sanding robot was born. Such a sanding robot had already been developed for a customer by CNC Solutions. CNC quickly realized that it was difficult to enter the market with this without extensive application knowledge of sanding. Bart Strouven: "After purchasing our own sanding cell at CNC, we decided to set up a partnership to further develop this concept into the product we sell today."
In cooperation with the company CNC Solutions, the design and realization were finally carried out. The know-how of this company provided a very experienced approach, including the use of compensation modules with their own control that allow hardware and software to work together in perfect harmony. Moreover, any robotization stands by definition for repeatability: a perfect and immediately repeatable sanding result is obtained every time, and this without causing any damage to the workpiece during the process.
Cibo initially purchased its own six-axle machine to conduct preliminary sanding tests. This test rig eventually evolved into a market-ready sanding robot that operates "tool-in-hand". Cibo works with six-axle machines from the 160 and 200 series from STÄUBLI. These can handle payloads of 40 and 100 kg respectively. With these robots, just about the most complex configurations are possible, reaching every corner or side of the workpieces. Positionally, all coordinates are basically reachable, although in exceptional cases the robot's rotary table can be used as the seventh axis, since it can operate synchronously with the robot. Of course, the robot can also be placed on a track.
Maximum standardization was gone for, with components elegantly interchangeable between robot cells. This provides better support for the customer. All self-developed hardware has been designed for the specific task. Important examples are the compensation unit and an in-house motor designed specifically for all required speeds and loads. There is thus no need for gaps between the various process steps that require switches. Not even at the transition from flat to perpendicular sanding, or when changing to another speed via ratio, for example. Meanwhile, a dozen projects have been successfully completed by Cibo Robotics.
Bart Strouven: "A major advantage of any automated sanding process is that it manages to get the maximum out of your sanding material. This is due to the adapted parameterization, which, depending on the sanding job, and especially the material to be processed, always seeks the optimum."
The setting is thus able to take into account a multitude of parameters - simultaneously. Not always is high pressure or ditto speed desired for good results. Stainless steel, in particular, requires modified, lower speeds that should be more at 5,000-6,000 rpm, rather than the 10,000 rpm we use with mild steel.
A similar story applies to the pressing forces, which must also remain sufficiently low. Controlled use of abrasive material thus also yields quantifiable efficiency gains.
CNC Solutions developed a so-called master-slave system, which controls the necessary periphery of the sanding process. Basically, it consists of a master unit that remains permanently attached to the robot. Below this, the various units automatically click, including angled output, straight output, extensions with a transmission, and so on. This alternative was quite deliberately chosen, and is a lot cheaper than the classic set-up, where one has to change a motor regularly, for example.
Bart Strouven: "Under the extensions, one can then change discs, without having to touch the entire tool. That toolchanger, where the abrasive material is mounted, works a bit like CNC turning and milling machines. With, in this case, a cone take-up device containing the abrasive material. That in turn is part of a warehouse that houses the various 'slaves.'" This is where the operator can access them in full operation, and do changeovers without the robot having to shut down. The warehouse is also completely dust-free.
Bart Strouven: "What we ultimately offer the customer is always the result of a thorough analysis process that takes all variables into account. The goal is to offer the customer a sustainable solution that will last up to thirty years. This is partly made possible by STÄUBLI robots: after all, they are hermetically sealed and require hardly any maintenance. The arms are also over-pressurized, keeping out dust. All Cibo Robotics projects are basically case-specific and are tailored to the customer's requirements. Already at the outset, an estimate is made of the service life of the respective abrasives. Thanks to the repeatability of the process and thus the stable quality, the consumption can be calculated very linearly. Indeed, the standard autonomy of each abrasive is well known by Cibo through experience. However, optimization of the sanding process is done by the customer himself, who can make immediate corrections according to welding quality or slightly modified material, for example."
Technologically, this shifts the initial problem from experience and know-how in sanding processes to the design of the robots and automated sanding processes. A lot of projects thus prove to be a nice challenge. However, the company can fall back on its more than seven decades of knowledge, so a suitable set-up is always found.