Drives & Controls July / August 2022

n TECHNOLOGY July/August 2022 www.drivesncontrols.com 20 IGUS HAS ANNOUNCED a gantry robot which, it claims, is up to 60% cheaper than rival machines. The drylin XXL robot has a working envelope of 2 x 2 x 1.5m and is particularly suitable for palletising loads up to 10kg. The robot costs from £8,000 including the control system, and comes as a DIY kit that can be set up and programmed without needing a system integrator. The kit allows users to commission a pick- and-place linear robot quickly and easily for tasks such as palletising, sorting, labelling and quality inspection. “Palletising robots developed in cooperation with external service providers can cost between £80,000 and £120,000 – more than the budget of many small companies,” says Adam Sanjurgo, Low Cost Automation product manager at igus UK. “We have therefore developed a much cheaper solution by using high-performance plastics and lightweight materials such as aluminium.” Depending on the type of stage, the robot costs £8,000–12,000 – a low-risk investment that usually pays for itself within a few weeks, according to Sanjurgo. The key components in the kit are two timing belt axes and a rack-and-pinion axis with stepper motors. In its largest version, the robot measures up to 6 x 6 x 1.5m. The package also includes a control cabinet, cables and energy chains, as well as free control software called igus Robot Control (iRC). Users can assemble the components to create a linear robot within a few hours, with no previous knowledge or formal training. If extra components – such as cameras or grippers – are needed, users can order them via igus’ RBTX robotics market. The Cartesian robot (which moves in three linear axes) can be used, for example, with conveyor belts that transport products from injection-moulding machines. In this case, the robot removes moulded parts weighing up to 10kg, moves them at up to 500mm/s, and positions them on a pallet with a repeatability of 0.8mm. “Companies can relieve their employees of physically demanding and time-consuming palletising tasks and redeploy the resource for more important tasks,” says Sanjurgo. The robot does not need any maintenance. The axes are made of corrosion-free aluminium. The axis slides move over plain bearings made of high- performance plastics incorporating solid lubricants, resulting in low-friction dry running without needing fluid lubricants for many years, even in dusty and dirty environments. Programming of motion sequences is said to be simple. “For many companies that do not have their own IT specialists, robot programming is often fraught with problems,” Sanjurgo points out. “That’s why we have developed free software that resembles common office software and enables intuitive programming of the robot paths.” The software creates a digital twin of the robot, and can set up movements in a few clicks, before the robot is installed. “Before buying, potential users can use the 3D model to check whether their desired movements are actually feasible,” Sanjurgo explains. “We invite anybody to try out our robots live or via the Internet, free of charge. We will support them during commissioning and show what is possible with low-cost robots, making the investment almost risk-free.” Igus has also made it easy to configure the linear robots online by harnessing the power of the Unity platform usually used to develop games for PCs and game consoles. The platform allows users to configure robots in just five minutes and to obtain instant price information. Applications can be programmed and tested and CAD data and drawings generated without needing specialists or CAD software. https://www.igus.co.uk/info/gantry-robots Easy to set up gantry robot is ‘up to 60% cheaper than rivals’ p Upgrading PoE (Power-over-Ethernet) managed switches usually requires any connected PoE devices to be shut down for 15 minutes or more. Data from the PDs (powered devices) – such as PLCs, sensors and IP cameras – is not captured during this time. Antaira Technologies has now integrated a patented technology called “persistent PoE” into its 802.3bt PoE switches, ensuring that data collection from PDs is not interrupted during updates, and preventing them from rebooting when power is restored. www.antaira.com p Analog Devices has announced what it claims is the first high-resolution, indirect time-of-flight (iToF) module for 3D depth sensing and vision systems. The ADTF3175 module offers ±3mm accuracy for machine vision applications. It offers designers a calibrated depth system that can be integrated into 3D sensing and vision systems, without needing specialised optics. www.analog.com p Toshiba Materials is investing around $38m to build a new plant in Japan to make ceramic (silicon nitride) balls for use in bearings to reduce the risk of electrolytic corrosion in motor bearings, especially in integrated motor-inverters used in electric vehicles. Toshiba, which already has about half of the world market for these silicon balls claims that its components have the highest mechanical performance, and weigh less than half as much as steel balls of the same size. p Toposens , the German start-up which has spent more than seven years developing an ultrasonic 3D echolocation technology, has launched a collision avoidance system for mobile robots based on the technology. It argues that 3D collision avoidance is necessary because existing safety Lidars with 2D outputs do not provide sufficient safety. www.toposens.com p Fanuc has introduced IoT software that uses AI to predict possible failures of drive systems for its servomotors and spindle motors. The AI Servo Monitor software uses machine learning to analyse the performance of CNC drives and creates a baseline model of the normal running state. Users can monitor graphs for any abnormalities. Email notifications can be generated if thresholds are exceeded. www.fanuc.com p Faraday Technology Corporation , a Taiwanese chip designer, has revealed that it has supplied multiple factory automation Asic (custom chip) projects, mainly in the field of Industrial IoT (IIoT). These designs include industrial controllers, communication, robots and PLC processors, implemented using 8” and 12”wafer process technologies. Faraday’s IP portfolio includes multi-protocol interfaces for connecting edge devices, such as USB, PCIe, Giga-bit Ethernet MAC/GPHY, and CAN- FD Bus. TECHNOLOGY BRIEFS igus’ gantry robots are said to be easy to specify, configure, install and program