Drives & Controls June 2022

New cantilever electro-mechanical drive  Combining precision with cost-effectiveness, ideal for small parts and battery manufacturing Like those in the Lithium-Ion battery manufacturing sector, modern production facilities have demanding specifications. For the Festo designers working on the latest cantilever handling axes, this meant creating a new range called the ELGT, providing precision combined with high load-bearing capacity and rigidity. The system’s core is a precision Eichenberger spindle drive with the load supported by integrated twin bearing guides. The designers took particular care to ensure the interfaces enabling the X, Y and Z axes interconnections are lightweight and extremely sturdy to maintain rigidity and repeatability of positioning accuracy, even under heavier loads. Festo has created an extremely flexible handling system with matched drives and compatible interfaces that users can simply combine with Festo servo and stepper motors and drives. With many different ranges within the complete system, there is plenty of choice, whether the key criteria be speed, precision, cost or size. This means long-stroke belt axes can be combined with the new ELGT cantilever axis, or for example, an ELGT cantilever axis could be combined with an electric (or pneumatic) mini slide. For ease and speed, the free of charge Electric Motion Sizing (EMS) software enables the calculation of single axis applications, and the Handling Guide Online [HGO] software package enables systems from single-axis to a 3D gantry or cantilever systems to be speedily designed by the user in under 15 minutes, complete with 3D CAD drawings. The next release of HGO will incorporate the new ELGT cantilever axes. Open connectivity Customers can easily mix Festo stepper and servo motors within a multi-axis handling system to achieve the best cost and performance. They use the same easy programming language, and the set-up within the Festo Automation Suite configuration software is identical. However, where end customers have a company standard or strong preference for alternative motor suppliers, standard motor kits are available for most leading brands, including Siemens, Omron, Mitsubishi and Yaskawa – often dependent on the final destination of the machinery. The same applies to sensors; there are easy mountings for standard Festo sensors for homing and position registration, and additional brackets are also available for other manufacturers’ sensors, e.g. Omron. Battery production has additional specialist requirements which require suppliers to minimise contamination by reducing Copper and Zinc content within axes. Festo sets its own standard to ensure these are under 1% in the ELGT axes and therefore compatible with the sector demands. The ELGT is a powerful yet highly cost-effective addition to the range of Festo electro-mechanical axes. It easily combines with the existing ranges to provide customers with more choice and a lower-cost solution for cantilever axis applications. Mounting connections • For precision joining of axis • Extremely sturdy, light weight connections • Screw threads, slot nuts, brackets and plates Cantilever axis • Available in 3 sizes: 90, 120 and 160 • Extra wide single guide for size 90 • Twin guides for sizes 120 and 160 • Perfect for 2D and 3D cantilever systems FlexibilLty and pHUformance Mounting options include direct screw connection into the precisely machined and threaded base, adjustable slot nuts that can be slid along the profile body, or brackets for mounting from the side. The axes are available in three widths of 90, 120 and 160 mm enabling (independently), the largest to carry loads of up to 600 kg, reaching speeds of up to 1 m/s and accelerations up to 15 m/s 2 . Stroke lengths of up to 1,500 mm are available from 50 mm in 50 mm increments.