The operator
“There is always some fear in walking up to the machine, even when you know it is safe.”
Opportunity: work on how the machine is perceived.
Mechanè
A palletizing island for ADS Automation, built around an ABB GoFa cobot. The safety cage stays, with panels that hide the pallets and leave the robot in view, and the island ships in pre-assembled parts.
Team
Alessio Fontanelli
Piera Marinelli
Silvia Giovannucci
Samuele Patti
Lorenzo Ricci
Davide Soldi
The cage becomes the stage.
01 // THE BRIEF
An island for a cobot that already exists
ADS Automation, an ABB system integrator in Imola, asked for a new end-of-line palletizing island, in a project run with Confartigianato Emilia-Romagna. The robot was fixed: an ABB GoFa collaborative arm. The brief was the island around it, which had to be accessible, safe and easy to adapt, and unlike the cells already on the market.
- Client
- ADS Automation
- Cobot
- ABB GoFa
- Task
- End of line
02 // THE MARKET
Four collaborative palletizers
We started from four cells already on sale, and from what each of them puts first.
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01
Robotiq PAL Ready
Deployable, utilitarian, compact, foldable.
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02
Unchained Robotics
Configurable, careful about looks, very compact, fully enclosed.
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03
FlexLink RI20
Transportable, rounded, agile, with a window for the operator.
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04
Sidel RoboAccess_Pal S
Transparent, powerful, compact, for medium and slow lines.
03 // WHO WORKS NEXT TO IT
The people around it
Three people deal with the island: the operator who works beside it, the installer who sets it up and the company that ships it. One line from each of them set a direction for the project.
The installer
“Safety cages are necessary, but if I could I would take them away: they are really ugly to look at.”
Opportunity: give the cage some dignity.
The company
“Shipping costs always matter: sending machines this big is not simple, and above all not cheap.”
Opportunity: modularity, with easy assembly as a value.
04 // MECHANÈ
In Greek theatre the mechanè was the crane that lifted actors over the stage.
This one lifts boxes onto a pallet, and lets you watch.
Four principles
The project kept to four principles. Each one answers something the three of them said.
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Design for perception
The robot stays in view, behind clear panels.
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Design for clarity
Lights in the posts and an HMI tell the state of the machine and where it is working.
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Design for assembly
Standard profiles and a nut-and-bolt base, assembled in sub-groups.
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Design for modularity
One or two pallet stations, from the same parts.
References from the moodboard: the kit for assembly, the two cases for a cage that shows what it holds.
05 // THE FILM
Lit one part at a time
Alessio Fontanelli and Piera Marinelli made the film, soundtrack included. It runs 53 seconds and has sound.
06 // THE SYSTEM
A core, a cage, a base
The island ships in three parts that are assembled on site.
The core
The GoFa stands on a module in folded stainless steel sheet. The HMI and the emergency stop sit on top, at the operator's height; a door on the side opens for maintenance.
The cage
Installers would rather do without safety cages. Here an adhesive gradient on the panels hides the pallets, leaves the robot in view and carries the client's brand, and the graphics can change for each customer.
The base
The cage is built from item profiles, assembled in sub-groups. Under the core, an M8 pegboard plate of 630 × 1450 mm: every element bolts where it is needed, with a nut and a bolt.
Parts from item
- Structure
- Profile 8 D40
- Top
- Cap 8 D40
- Panels
- Clamping profile 8
- Joints
- Standard fastening set 8
- Lights
- LED profile 8
- Floor
- Adjustable foot 8 D40
Materials
- Core
- Stainless steel
- Panels
- Clear PMMA
- Accents
- Orange PMMA
- Covers
- Black plastic
Two configurations
Both are built from the same parts.
A, full setup
292 × 232 cm. Pallet buffering, for high volume at high speed.
B, partial setup
178 × 232 cm. No buffering, for lower volume at high speed.
Sensors and HMI
Keyence sensors keep the operator safe and the pallet aligned; the HMI shows the state of the machine.
Laser barrier
A safety scanner for the operator, on the side of the pallet station.
CMOS laser sensors
They check that the pallet is aligned, with a standard connection to the core.
HMI
Feedback on the state of the machine and on the zones where it is working.
07 // THE BRAND
A new mark for ADS
The team also redrew the ADS identity: a logotype, a pictogram taken from its A, and three colours. On the island the mark goes on the HMI and on the panels.
Colours
- Orange
- #FE6807
- Blue
- #191BDF
- Black
- #09080D
08 // WHAT CHANGES
What changes for each of them
- Shipping volume
- -89%
- shipped in pre-assembled parts instead of whole.
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For the operator, clear feedback
Keyence sensors with instant visual feedback, and a cage that no longer reads as a wall or a danger.
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For the installer, a premium look
The enclosure becomes a brand asset: a panel that can be customised, and an opaque gradient that puts the robot in focus.
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For the company, contained costs
A configurable product that ships in pre-assembled parts.