Fraunhofer Innovation Platform Twente
During my eleven-week internship at Fraunhofer Innovation Platform Twente, I was tasked with the programming of the Montratec System, a flexible production line dedicated to the partial assembly and disassembly of modular battery packs. This production line features shuttles that transport products, switches that change the orientation of the shuttles, and Infrared Modules (IRMs) that recognize the shuttles.
The goal of the assignment was to enable shuttles to travel towards different destinations on the track. This was done by creating a code in TwinCAT. Due to the flexibility of the production line and the easy expandability, the programming had to be object-oriented for easy reuse. Next to the programming of the shuttles, a Human Machine Interface (HMI) had to be created in order to allow easy communication between the operator and the system. It had to facilitate control over the shuttles, allowing operators to send shuttles to specific target. Furthermore, it had to provide a system overview by displaying the status of all the objects in the system, indicating which are functional and which are experiencing an error. Additionally, a fleet manager had to be integrated, which could dispatch order to shuttles, directing them to their destinations. This was needed as the flexible production line will be part of an even larger production line with all stand-alone machine. These should be able to communicate with each other through an instance like a fleet manager. Finally, a documentation had to be provided, offering an overview of all the components and functionalities developed during the assignment.

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