XY Crane CNC?


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Thread: XY Crane CNC?

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    Default XY Crane CNC?

    Does such a product exist? I have an overhead XY crane and I am curious if there are any retrofit solutions that can allow you to basically CNC it.

    We currently have ovens under our 5ton overhead crane that is manually controlled at the moment which means the operator has to center big heavy things himself, by eye. I'd like to basically make a grid of the oven locations so that the XY crane could be moved close to where it needs to be by the operator and then the operator just presses a button for it to automatically center the load over the oven reducing the safety hazards and quality risks associated with manually moving a large load.

    has anyone ever heard/seen something like this? i have no idea where to look.

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    full on CNC would be overkill. If you put encoders on the drives, you could keep track of where it was. The cheapest solution might be to just install inductive proximity switches on the rails for each X,Y position. Maybe you could add a button to the pendant and it would ignore the proximity switches unless the "position" button was pushed. When the button was pushed, it would stop the axis when it hit a switch. This would let you jog past the other oven positions and when you get close to the desired oven, you hold the button down and the crane automatically stops when it gets there. If you need decelerations and stuff then it might require a PLC with encoders, but a bisic setup with switches would require only a little wiring.

    Matt



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    Community Moderator Al_The_Man's Avatar
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    Basically it would be a point to point positioner.
    I would assume he would load the crane manually and then say push a button for the location he wants?
    Some time back I did a similar magnet gantry crane that was used to stack rail wheels into a box car, it is a similar kind of operation, for this you could use a PLC with a couple of encoder input modules.
    Or a standalone Galil unit such as a DMC-1500 would do it.
    For either, a Maple Systems two line display and keypad input could be used for the operator.
    The trickiest part is reading the motion travelled accurately, you do not want wheel slip or any such event happening.
    I am 99% sure you are not going to get anything off the shelf, unless someone has done one exactly like it.
    Most applications like this are one-off.
    Al.

    CNC, Mechatronics Integration and Custom Machine Design

    “Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.”
    Albert E.


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    hmm, there are probably 40 ovens or so, and it spans a good sized area, something like 120'x60' - wouldn't prox switches be tough to do?

    I would need decel as well, yes.



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    Community Moderator Al_The_Man's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by rise View Post
    I would need decel as well, yes.
    Decel would imply some kind of motor control, what do you have now, if anything?
    If these are ordinary 3 phase motors, you could use a VFD, unless the present ones are AC induction wound rotor for rpm control.
    Al.

    CNC, Mechatronics Integration and Custom Machine Design

    “Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.”
    Albert E.


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    Are the ovens in a grid? A 5x8 grid would get you 40 positions with only 13 sensors.

    Matt



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    I'm guessing a VFD is used - though i'm not sure since i've only been at my job for a week and haven't had a chance to really look into what is there now. but it looks like its just a 2-speed motor controlled by a wireless controller. The ops run it quickly when they need to go a far distance and then it has a fine tune speed to try and center it.

    now that i think about it, there probably isn't a decel - it's the fine tune speed that i was thinking of.



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    alright, i'm sorry for messing up the info - i checked our drawing to stop confusing everyone (including myself).

    -30 oven stands in a 35'x86' area
    -they are not lined up in a perfect grid - 4 "rows" of varying lengths due to different size ovens. all points are fixed in the XY grid area and could easily be plotted.
    -all oven stands are circular in nature, thus have a center point to lower the furnaces onto.

    btw, thanks for the help



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    Community Moderator Al_The_Man's Avatar
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    Most likely two speed motor?
    So the system would need to be integrated with the present radio control?
    Al.
    BTW, I moved the thread to a more suitable forum.

    CNC, Mechatronics Integration and Custom Machine Design

    “Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.”
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    i believe its 2-speed (which is perfectly fine) and integrating it with the current radio control would be ideal, yes.

    and thanks for moving it - i have no idea where it belonged.



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    Community Moderator Al_The_Man's Avatar
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    Depends on what make/model of Crane controller you have, some have extra functions that are now maybe not being used, the crane could be positioned through the wireless controller for pick-up operation and when ready a 'Auto' P.B. could be used through the radio link to the PLC or? mounted on the crane to move it to the pre-programmed position.
    The major obstacle to overcome is if the PLC is on the crane (ideal), then it will be getting the desired 1 of 30 positions sent to the PLC.
    Binary code would require 5 bits of info to be sent.
    Also probably the safest would be to allow the PLC to move the crane to the oven position, but then allow the operator to lower it manually.
    The other alternative to get position data to the PLC is a Festoon system, but this may not be practical.
    Al.

    Last edited by Al_The_Man; 03-18-2010 at 11:11 AM. Reason: correct for oven count
    CNC, Mechatronics Integration and Custom Machine Design

    “Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.”
    Albert E.


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