LCD Panel Factory
Over the past few decades, LCD technology has continued to develop, and production lines have naturally been updated. Substrate sizes have continued to increase, and panel sizes have also continued to grow. In the 1980s, the maximum size was 8.4 inches; now, it can be 120 inches. The operational challenges brought about by the rapid increase in size and weight have made the production line of LCD panels a key field for industrial automation applications. From glass packing, glass unpacking, LCD packing, LCD unpacking, stacking glass panel, and the entire factory transmission equipment, the comprehensive introduction of robots solves the pain that comes from manual handling. It also stabilizes quality and improves product yield, and has the 24-hour operation to improve economic benefits. It can also solve control problems and reduce personnel costs.
Automated guided vehicle (AGV) systems are now widely used in automated warehouse logistics systems, smart factories, smart manufacturing, and other fields. One of Taiwan's few large-scale LCD panel manufacturers adopted giant uncrewed trucks that can handle panels weighing more than 30 tons and meet transportation and storage needs across the factory. Due to this giant uncrewed trunk's complex structure and the need to continue the control management software used in the past, the computing brain responsible for "navigation" and the full-time "control" of the cerebellum must be divided and conquered and will facilitate subsequent software development.
As the computing brain navigates, it needs a more powerful computing performance, more diverse sensors, and durability to withstand harsh environments. And it also needs to be a smaller and more compact size. The cerebellum used for control must be connected to many COM ports of the mechanical components. Not only must the number be sufficient, but also compatible with RS-232/422/485 and other protocols. It also must have galvanic isolation protection to meet the high voltage industry environment.
Two world-renowned LCD panel manufacturers in Taiwan have the industrial computer solution for control under evaluation but lack sufficient COM ports and galvanic isolation protection. Therefore, several COM port adapter cables with USB interfaces must be connected, increasing the cost, making the cabling more complicated, and occupying a lot of internal space. This solution does not support remote out-of-band (OOB) management. Once a failure causes a shutdown, you will have to go on-site to restart the system, and it isn't easy to move manually, which seriously reduces the efficiency of the production line.
