Knowledge
Lithium battery production places high demands on the continuity and controllability of material flow. The logistics line handles the transport and sorting of materials between process steps, and its operating stability directly affects the line takt and material flow efficiency. IO-Link is becoming the mainstream choice for automation control of this type of equipment. This case study takes a lithium battery automated logistics line as its subject and demonstrates the practical application of Solidot IOL7A series IO-Link products.
Solidot products used in this case study
IOL7A series IO-Link Master
IOL7A series digital hub
Equipment overview
The lithium battery automated logistics line is used for material transport and transfer during lithium battery production and consists of conveying, buffering and sorting units. Material is loaded onto the conveyor line, where it is transferred, positioned and sorted along the line and then conveyed to the target machine. The main process flow is as follows:
Process step | Action description |
①Loading | Material enters the conveyor line via the loading station |
②Conveying and transfer | Material is conveyed along the line to each station |
③Positioning and sorting | Material is positioned at the station and diverted according to its route |
④Equipment interfacing | Material is conveyed to the target equipment machine |
⑤Unloading and output | Material that has completed its transfer is output to downstream |
Solidot solution
Multiple workstations are arranged along the conveying direction of the logistics line. The control points for in-position detection, operator control and actuation are distributed across the individual workstations, and the ratio of inputs to outputs varies with material specifications and process layout. If the control points were concentrated in the control cabinet, signal cables would have to be routed over long distances from each workstation along the line to the cabinet, resulting in a large number of cable harnesses and complex wiring. During operation, when points are changed or faults are troubleshooted, each point would also have to be checked one by one back at the cabinet.
The solution combines IOL7A series IO-Link Masters with digital hubs: the input/output direction of each hub channel can be configured as required, so a single hub can cover different point-count combinations and the same model can accommodate the differences in point count and direction at each workstation. The masters and hubs are deployed together with the workstations, so acquisition and actuation are performed on the equipment side.
Solution architecture
Control layer:
The Omron PLC acts as the core controller and handles the logic scheduling of conveying and sorting on the logistics line.
Network layer:
The IOL7A-EC01B-8A master connects to the PLC via EtherCAT. A single master provides 8 IO-Link ports, each of which has hubs connected downstream, and the network is distributed along the conveyor line.
Field layer:
The IOL7A-EC01B-8A masters and IOL7A-16CA-M12 hubs are installed on the conveyor line. There are 200 masters and 1000 hubs, with 5 to 6 hubs connected to each master. The channels of the hubs connect to field components: on the input side, photoelectric sensors, proximity switches and other sensing elements collect signals for material presence, workstation in-position and mechanism position, and operator pushbuttons are likewise connected to input channels to capture manual operator commands; on the output side, solenoid valves are connected to drive the stopping mechanisms and cylinders. Ports are reserved with spare capacity according to project requirements.
Application results
Dimension | Application performance |
Easy maintenance | Clear node distribution enables intuitive fault point location; maintenance personnel do not need to return to the control cabinet side to check one by one |
Simplified wiring | On-site signals are connected at the station side, reducing wiring work inside the cabinet |
Easy interfacing | It can connect directly to downstream devices; when the workstation is expanded, new points can be added without changing the centralized wiring. |
Solidot IOL7A series IO-Link products
IOL7A series IO-Link Master: IOL7A-EC01B-8A provides 8 IO-Link ports, EtherCAT communication, metal housing, IP67 protection rating; a single master can connect up to 8 IO-Link Devices.
IOL7A series digital hub: IOL7A-16CA-M12 provides 16-channel digital input/output, configurable channel direction, supports parameter settings such as input inversion and output Failure Protection, IP67 protection rating.
