• • • COVER STORY • • •
often not considered as a holistic construct during design. The energy supply in particular proves to be a weak point. As the battery is only designed to supply the AMR, the operating time of the system drops rapidly if another power guzzler has to be supplied along with the robot arm. This means that 24/7 operation of MoMas is hardly possible with the AMRs currently available on the market and their battery capacity. In order to bridge the downtimes, additional systems have to be purchased to take over during the charging breaks. This necessary oversizing of the MoMa fleet makes the cost-effectiveness of such systems considerably more difficult.
Wireless Power Kit enables complete system consisting of AMR and Cobot
It is clear that the energy supply of MoMas must be thought through further if the systems are to reach the mass market. The problem is that there
is hardly any space in the AMR platforms for additional batteries to extend the operating time. Integration into existing AMR models is difficult. One solution to this is the Wireless Power Kit, a system consisting of an intelligent charger and intelligent batteries. The kit is installed in the MoMa and efficiently supplies the complete system of AMR and cobot with sufficient energy for its tasks. The Wireless Power Kit can be equipped with a scalable number of batteries and has an inductive charging system. It can be flexibly dimensioned depending on energy requirements. The energy system reliably supplies both a 24V and a 48V robot arm. In addition, it is possible to equip the kit with industry-standard DC/AC converters to provide any type of industrial power supply with 230 V AC (US 220/120V) or 400 V AC. This expands the possibilities of handling solutions that can be operated with the AMR if, for example, a robot arm only has an AC connection.
Inductive charging enables
24/7 continuous operation In addition to a higher energy density, the Wireless Power Kit offers an inductive quick-charging system. This can increase the productivity of the MoMa by up to 32 per cent. Wireless charging enables automated intermediate charging of the manipulator at pick or work stations. With in- process charging, the energy level of the vehicle battery remains constant. There is no need to fully discharge the battery and the associated long charging pauses.
The charging process takes place while the manipulators carry out their work. If a MoMa inserts new parts at a machine tool, for example, it is charged fully automatically and quickly for as long as the work step lasts. The process is repeated continuously at each subsequent work station. Even the shortest pauses of a few seconds can be used to supply energy. This makes 24/7 continuous operation of mobile manipulators possible for the first time.
10 ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING • JULY/AUGUST 2024
electricalengineeringmagazine.co.uk
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