Reinventing the production line with ACOPOStrak

Imagine a factory that has moved beyond the conventional conveyor driven production line. Instead, items are individually whisked from one stage to the next, each on a shuttle that moves independently, permitting greater flexibility and customization. Meet ACOPOStrak the flexible linear motion system for factories from B&R (an ABB company).

Ever since the days of Henry Ford and Frederick Taylor, the production line has been synonymous with efficient manufacturing. Such a line enabled the optimization of workflows and the churning out of identical products in huge numbers and at a fixed rate. When we think of such a production line, we typically imagine a conveyor-belt running through the factory, built of rollers, chains and drives and powered by large motors. Such a setup does not lead to optimal use of space, makes it challenging to change the workflow or manufacturing process, and allows little scope for customization. Products evolve to optimally suit production capabilities rather than vice versa.

Imagine if the conveyor could be replaced by shuttles, carrying products through the factory individually, flexibly and quickly. Imagine if these shuttles could switch tracks, permitting product flows to be spilt or merged at full speed, The production process would no longer be a rigid linear progression, but different items could follow different paths and receive different treatments. A single factory could produce a variety of products and easily introduce new ones. Smaller production batches would make it viable to move factories closer to the customers, meaning shorter delivery times and less transport-related pollution.

Enter ACOPOStrak

ACOPOStrak uses the principle of linear induction. The track is equivalent to the stator of a motor, but cut open and arranged linearly. The shuttle moves along the track at high speed and acceleration and with great precision. Eliminating all the rollers, belts and motors of traditional conveyor belts means there are far fewer moving parts. Slippage, wear and maintenance and reduced while operations become more precise and reliable. Even the switches used to divert shuttles do not have moving parts. Contactless magnetic fields guide them in the desired direction. Shuttles traverse these switches at full operating speed (up to 5 m/s).

With highly dynamic control over the speed, spacing, and routing of each individual shuttle, it becomes possible to perform processing steps all along the track, even while in motion. Square meters of ground space otherwise consumed by buffer zones and empty stretches of conveyor now host high-value processing. Different products—with different sizes, shapes, contents, closures or labels — each get exactly the treatment they need.

A customer of B&R in the cosmetics industry illustrates the order-of-magnitude impact this can have: Replacing three of four existing lines with one adaptive line, they reduced their footprint by around 75 percent while maintaining nearly the same overall output. The changeover time to introduce a new bottle with a pump closure went from three hours to 40 minutes. A batch of shampoo and conditioner with a new bottle design that would have taken around three weeks was produced in five days. 

The integral role of software

Software and AI add value throughout the lifecycle of an ACOPOStrak installation. This process begins at the very first steps of conceptual design. The layout is planned graphically using software that simulates its operation and energy consumption, and then generates the machine code for its operation.

During operation, advanced control software dynamically routes products through an easily configurable network of processing stations, adapts movement parameters to changing conditions, synchronizes with pick-and-place robots and other systems, and makes subtle adjustments to ensure gentle product handling and minimize sloshing of liquid contents during high-speed operation. Each shuttle is uniquely identified and inherently provides an array of data, which can be visualized in the ACOPOStrak Monitor app. These data can be used on site or remotely, with AI supporting optimization and predictive maintenance.

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