automation | Technology
movements of a human operator but, of course, with much enhanced levels of precision and repeatability. Yushin America Director of Operations Michael
Greenhalgh says the concept automation system uses proven Yushin components but configures them in a different way and uses more sophisticated control software. “This can do a lot of what you would expect from an articulated robot. It can either hand off from a conventional robot or can work standalone,” he says. “The biggest innovation is the synchronisation of all axes together – if the load is too heavy, for example, it will bring in the other arm.” Wittmann presented its W8 Pro generation of robots
Above: Ranger Automation’s Ultra-Compact robots target moulding applications with limited headroom
looking toward the future when they will require robots with more flexibility and more advanced part-handling capabilities,” he says.
Linear innovations Numerous new linear robots have been introduced recently at shows in the US and Europe. US-based Ranger’s Ultra-Compact Robots are designed to provide a solution for moulding machines with tight overhead clearance in which conventional robots won’t fit. Designed with an space-saving triple-stage arm, the robot can extract parts as tall as the available space between the top of the machine and the crane or ceiling limit. In addition, the compound action of the arm elements is said to provide a 50% faster take-out speed along with extended stroke for lower part release on large-tonnage machines. The Ultra-Compact Series is available in 3-axis to 6-axis configurations, with A-, B- or C-axis servo wrist rotations. Yushin demonstrated a new HST-150S model
Right: The new HST-150S robot from Yushin
offers sub-one second takeout times at lower cost than its previous designs
mounted on a Sumitomo SE100EV injection moulding machine on the Yushin America booth at the show. The company says it has leveraged knowledge gained from the HSA ultra-high speed models to create this new version, which targets sub-second take-out times “at a very affordable price point.” The robot demoulded 16 packaging frames in less than 0.5s and a sub 4.0s overall cycle. Yushin also used NPE
to debut a new automation concept that combines two high speed servo robots on a horizontal linear beam to provide a total of 16 axes of movement. The system, which does not have a name, can automate the manipulation
34 INJECTION WORLD | July/August 2015
at NPE, the advanced version of its established W8 design. The company has also expanded the functional scope of its R8 IPC robot control system, now in version R8.3. “Consistent application of lightweight construc- tion technology for the axes, in combination with the drive concept Wittmann developed specifically for linear robots, make the models of the W8 Pro series extreme- ly dynamic while maintaining extraordinarily low energy consumption at the same time,” the company claims.
Capacity expansions Wittmann is currently expanding capacity to meet increased demand. In May, an extension of its plant in Hungary took overall capacity to 4,200 robots/yr. This production plant primarily makes W808 and W818 models for payloads up to 6 kg. By next January, robot production in Austria and the US will also have been increased to take the group’s total capacity to 4500 robots/yr.
High speed robotics specialist CBW Automation
unveiled its SSE robot in March. The new high speed side entry robot is said to be the company’s most advanced to date and incorporates CBW’s “high flow vacuum” system, which is designed to achieve very high speed transfer of parts from mould to the automation unit. It is said to provide an intrusion time in the mould area of less than 0.5 seconds. The new SSE robot incorporates a strip stroke which, combined with the high flow vacuum, allows for more complex mould and part geometries than were possible with earlier types. Undercuts can be stripped quickly, and the robot can follow the motion of the
mould for unscrewing or more complex ejection of parts. The SSE was
demonstrated on a 650 tonne Engel e-Speed hybrid packaging machine, taking one second to
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