Robot design TF/V

Technological partner of human

The human robotic colaboration means the future in the field of automation technology. The robot becomes partner of human and is able to cooperate without safety fences with the workers through his sensors. defortec developed the design of this future technology for the TecFabrik from Daimler AG. The resulting robot head is used for automatic settings of sealing caps on the underbody of vehicle bodyworks.

Beside the design development defortec supported with a detailed prototype development and the manufacturing of the complex housing system.

Daimler sets standards in innovative production technology. The company recognized the potential of the sensitive lightweight robot at an early stage and was the first car manufacturer to use it successfully in pilot projects for series production. New production concepts and approaches are tested in the Mercedes-Benz TecFabrik. Many of these innovations have already made the leap from the idea to the testing phase and on to series production - including advanced logistics solutions with automated guided vehicles (AGVs).

An inconspicuous external staircase leads to the center of the production specialists and process developers at Mercedes-Benz. The internal test factory in building 40 bears the name “Ringbahn” - an allusion to the ceiling system with which car bodies can be transported in a circle. This area of the TecFabrik at the Sindelfingen site has been in operation for one and a half years.

“This is where we test the production technologies of tomorrow,” explains Andreas Friedrich, Head of the Technology Factory at Mercedes-Benz Cars, Daimler AG. “Ideally, the developments from here will make it into series production so that we have space for new ideas.” The large hall is reminiscent of an innovation fair: Engineers and technicians work on a wide variety of solutions at various stations. They control small and medium-sized robots that grip, move and assemble components - from body plugs to sun visors.

The robotics design shows pleasant, soft basic forms to lend this more human technology a matching expression.

An important role is also played by the complex lighting elements, which communicate different tidings for movements or even the completion of a work step.