A new robotic testing machine at the Pirelli Tyres plant in Carlisle has improved operational efficiency and freed technicians for more skilled work.
A new robotic testing machine at the Pirelli Tyres plant in Carlisle has improved operational efficiency and freed technicians for more skilled work.
Supplied by Zwick, the floor standing digital system is thought to be the first of its type in the British tyre industry.
It automatically carries out a linked series of tension tests on batches of synthetic- and natural-rubber ring specimens to help develop new compounds for improving tyre performance.
Replacing a manually controlled system, the Zwick machine operates without need for attention after the initial set-up.
It identifies specimen batches automatically and selects and feeds specimens individually to and from the testing station by transfer mechanisms sequenced by Zwick's built-in "testXpert" software.
The ring specimens are tested to ISO 37 on two-minute cycles, the results being displayed on a monitor and recorded in print-out along with data on batches and specimens.
Pirelli Tyres applies a 100 per cent testing regime.
Typically, the machine is set up to test robotically fifty or more specimens at a time, with twenty-four hour operational availability.
The company believes the elimination of the human factor has not only enabled skilled labour to be redeployed but also improved the consistency of the testing process.
Said to be the market leader in robotic testing machines, Zwick has now installed over fifteen automated systems in the UK industry for a range of testing functions, including hardness, tension, compression, torsion, surface quality, dimensional accuracy, etc
