- Many years of experience in manufacturing
- Flexible and comprehensive solution package
- Economical and automated application of measuring technology
- APAS assistant can work with people without additional safety equipment
For the first time, the Bosch group is offering its own measuring and manufacturing technology products to external parties. Up until now, these solutions and systems have been built into Bosch group equipment. Timely measurements as direct part of the manufacturing process are of crucial importance to everyday operations. This ensures the immediate identification of deviations to avoid costs associated with reworking or scrap. At the Stuttgart international trade fair for quality assurance, Control 2014, from May 6 to 9 at stand 7328 in hall 7, Bosch will be presenting the FMS 100 optical 3-D form measuring machine and the FTP40 3-D flatness measurement system. The "APAS assistant" mobile production assistant rounds off the system package. These solutions, proven in Bosch manufacturing, facilitate the economical and automated application of measuring technology with nanometer resolution in the production context.
The FMS 100 was designed for measurement of rotationally symmetric serially produced precision parts. Rotation speeds of up to 100 rounds per minute and optical sensing arms with a diameter of less than 0.7 mm facilitate rapid form measurement for determining internal and external geometries. Standard applications include measurement of circularity and straightness, cone shape, and diameter. Modular extensions make it possible to customize the measuring machine to meet specific customer requirements. The non-contact optical sensing arms allow the measurement of the parallelism of very thin or very delicate objects without causing any alterations to the objects themselves through contact forces.
Robust yet precise
The FTP40 measurement system enables the rapid measurement of two parallel surfaces of a product in a single measuring process, without the need to move the object. This ensures excellent stability, and markedly reduces the cycle time. The FTP40 may equally be used for the rapid measurement of flatness, thickness, and parallelism, either as a standalone device in precision measurement facilities and development departments, or, alternatively, as an industrial measurement system for optical 3-D inspection in manufacturing. The major advantages of the Bosch machines' interferometric technology are high resolution, short cycle times, and non-contact, non-wearing measurement. When developing these measuring machines, great emphasis was put on achieving a highly robust design, with low sensitivity to vibrations and temperature fluctuations.
Easy loading with the APAS assistant
The FMS 100 and FTP40 can be loaded either manually or automatically using an APAS assistant. Providing a flexible solution for retroactive automation of manual workstations and small-scale series production, the mobile production assistant in particular assists associates with dirty, physically demanding or monotonous tasks. Accordingly, the APAS assistant is a valuable automation solution for production-related measurement stations. Its sensitive three-finger gripper allows it to grip a variety of complex shaped parts in a flexible manner. Integrated cameras help to analyze the environment and to identify the parts to be picked up. The image recognition also contributes to a high level of pick-and-place accuracy, which means that part feeding requirements can be kept simple.
Certified by the German Employers' Liability Insurance Association, the APAS assistant is the first and, to date, only assistance system to make it possible to work with people directly without the need for an additional protective device.
