FEATURE ROBOTICS & MOTION CONTROL
ROBOT SWIVEL INCREASES production output of diecast parts
In the aluminium and magnesium casting company of Schweizer & Weichand located in Murrhardt, Germany, two robot stations for the production of diecast aluminium parts for the automotive industry have been extensively modernised with the help of an S100-4 swivel from the Swedish robot peripherals manufacturer Robot System Products (RSP)
Left: the automation technician Frank Schütrumpf programmes the ABB Irb 4600 handling robot of the aluminium diecast plant 2
Below right: the ABB Irb 4600 handling robot in the aluminium diecast plant 2 is equipped with an RSP S100-4 swivel
Below left: the compact, new swivel S100-4 weighs only 4.1kg and can be easily mounted
D
uring these rapid handling processes, the robot peripherals play an
important role. The previous solution without a swivel required the hose and cable packages to be wound around the upper arm of the robot and costly production stoppages occurred several times every day. Now not a single failure has occurred thanks to the new swivel on the robots. And all this at 1,500 to 1,800 cycles per day. The heart of the Bühler
Evolution 66 diecasting cell with an integrated KURTZ KPC370 press consists of an Irb 4600 handling robot from ABB. This robot takes the diecast parts out of the diecasting mould, passes them on for a check for completeness, and then lays down the cast parts for cooling on the four cooling shelves. Then the robot takes a cooled shot and
lays it down for deburring in the fine trimming press. Due to the various operations, a freely swivelling sixth axis is indispensable. For this purpose, the RSP S100-4 swivel offers the solution, as it provides continuous operation under harsh conditions. Using the teach
28 MAY 2014 | AUTOMATION
pendant, the motional sequences of the robot can be optimised for each type of element to be diecast.
SWIVEL S100-4 The new series of swivels from RSP provides air supply and electrical signals, without limiting the motion capabilities of the robot. The user can spin the sixth axis free from hoses, cables or other obstacles. Low weight, high corrosion resistance and minimum maintenance service shorten the cycle times, enhance productivity and maximise up-time in any application involving substantial robot motion. There are no
limitations to axis-6 and, together with RSP hose packages,
neither are there any restrictions to the axes-4, 5 and 6. Air, electrical signals and the fieldbus from axis-6 are supplied to the tool. Thanks to the swivel, the dress pack on the upper arm of the robot is not affected by the rotation of axis-6. With the previous solution without a swivel, the hose and cable package had to be twisted around the upper arm of the robot, and costly production stops
occurred several times every day. RSP’s design of swivel units is based on
the ISO standard for robot flanges. For the swivel unit to be able to function properly, an adaptation kit has to be included. RSP offers a range of adaptation kits for different robot brands.
SATISFIED USER The automation technician Frank Schütrumpf, responsible for technology and technical education, appreciates the extremely high reliability and long life of the S100-4 swivels from RSP, used for protecting the hose package. The swivels need maintenance only about every two years, thereby enabling the dress pack hose package to stay in operation for more than five years. The technologist is very satisfied with
the technical advice and service, the easy mounting, the resistance to high temperatures, dirt and water emulsions as well as with the elimination of down- times and the maintenance-free hose package. Schütrumpf estimates the productivity increase obtained with the swivels from RSP at almost ten percent and the cost savings at more than €12,000 per year.
Robot System Products (RSP)
www.robotsystemproducts.com T: +46 21 816 603
Enter 213 /AUTOMATION
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