Assessment of parameters affecting the energy consumption of a pneumatic pick and place system

Abstract

The use of compressed air for industrial operations has achieved significant popularity due to the benefits associated with its use. However, it has been established that pneumatic systems are inherently inefficient, due to the number of losses which they are subject to. Energy efficiency has become one of the main benchmarks of success for the manufacturing industry. Through the adoption of energy efficient practices, organisations can remain competitive within the market, while meeting their production demands and reducing their overall costs. The formation of losses leads to increased consumption and reduced productivity within the system. These effects typically span over long periods of time, until the inefficiency source is detected through a routine inspection. The aim of this dissertation was to introduce inefficiency sources within a pneumatic pick and place system to monitor the effects produced on the system parameters. Through this approach, a set of parameters which could be monitored in real-time to identify the losses studied could be established. Design of Experiments was utilised to produce an adequate experimental procedure. Additionally, parameters related to pressure drop, air consumption, productivity and flowrate variation were recorded and analysed. The two inefficiency sources introduced to the dissertation were a leak and a pipe bend. Three size variations of each of these two parameters were incorporated to distinguish the conclusiveness of the results. As leaks were introduced, it was established that the air consumption parameter is sufficient to identify any leak diameter within a CAS. The pressure and productivity parameters also provided significant results when a large leak diameter was introduced. However, for small leaks, these parameters were inconclusive. As regards the pipe bends introduced, it was concluded that no parameter could provide an indication of the presence of a pipe bend of any size. However, for the largest restriction created, the parameters of pressure, productivity, and flowrate all provided conclusive results which could be utilised for the identification of such an inefficiency. Therefore, it was established that a pipe bend would not always be detected within a CAS. The dissertation also focused on the comparison of the consumption effects of different end effectors since this was not established through research. Through the gathered data, it was identified that a suction cup is less efficient than a jaw gripper, as it consumes more air while producing less production cycles.