A Safe Space for Implant Machining

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-10𝑖iA/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.”    

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.”