Technological validation of a robotic system for welding the lower rolls of sugarcane milling

• Grant number: 22/13654-8
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Innovative Research in Small Business - PIPE
• Start date: April 01, 2023
• End date: March 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Mechanical Engineering - Mechanical Engineering Design
• Agreement: SEBRAE-SP
• Principal Investigator: João Paulo Bená
• Grantee: João Paulo Bená
• Company: MC Supply Comércio, Importação, Exportação e Intermediação de Negócios Ltda
• CNAE: Fabricação de máquinas e equipamentos para uso industrial específico não especificados anteriormente
• City: Santa Bárbara D'Oeste
• Pesquisadores principais: Marcos Costa
• Associated researchers: Rafael Nóbrega Ramalho

Abstract

DUO Automation works with the transformation industries of the country, in one of the main sectors classified in this branch, the producers of sugar and biofuels. The sector is part of the sugarcane agro-industrial system. The market segment in which the company and this project operate are sugar and ethanol production plants. It specializes in solutions aimed at robotization of industrial operations dedicated to this sector, where the first line of product development was aimed at robotization of welding (chapisco) aiming at the recovery of the upper and lower mill rolls. The chapisco represents one of the protective coatings of the shirts and is indicated as one of the pillars of the juice extraction process. Welds fixed to the side of the frieze of the mill rolls are spattered, forming a coarse sandpaper effect, to drag and squeeze the bagasse on the roll to be crushed. As for the methods of application of roughcast during the harvest, they are classified as manual, employing welders and, by using robotic welding systems. The company proposed replacing the method of application of roughcast, the manual by the robotic electrode welding system and the justification for the robotization of this operation meets the pressures exerted by the Ministry of Labor in front of the plants. Approved a project with the title "Development of a chapisco robot with electrode in the maintenance of sugarcane mills and performance tests" together with the PAPPE/PIPE Call - 6th Call, being approved and having started activities in November 2019. In this project, he proposed to develop a second robotic welding system dedicated to the recovery of the lower rollers from the mills, which would be operating during the harvest. And, the scientific report of this development had been approved. This plan is related to this project, and aims to calculate the technical/economic feasibility within the plant process, of this robotic welding system dedicated to the recovery of the lower mill rolls, so that the customer can measure during a harvest all the gains that the application of our technique brings to the process so that the definitive contraction of several robotic systems for the 2024 harvest can be justified. To this end, a partnership was established with mill (commercial partner), to start the activities: dimensioning of mills in partner units, milling modeling in 3D, study of installation of the robotic system in mills, manufacture of installation materials (system infrastructure welding machine), physical installation of cables, hose and support, installation and setup of the program, and validation during the harvest. (AU)