FEATURE Robotics
SCARA robots rise to the challenge
Affordable SCARA robots can help businesses tackle a wide variety of challenges, and continue to offer extra flexibility, increased performance and greater ease of use with each new generation
W
hilst the pandemic has disrupted market trends across the board, demand for robots in industrial
settings has continued to increase. Enabled by each new generation of machines becoming more aff ordable, easier to use, faster and more effi cient, the total industrial robot market in 2020 is valued at $14.6bn by Fortune Business Insights, with a potential 10% CAGR in the 2021-28 period.
Robots for challenges Industrial robots are available in many diff erent forms, to tackle various tasks. At one end are the large machines designed for heavy lifting and high-speed processes in areas where human access is restricted for safety. At the other end are benchtop- sized collaborative robots (cobots) that work alongside human workers. In between are robots built to handle varying loads and automating a wide variety of processes that involve repeatedly retrieving, moving and placing items. Among them are the SCARA (selective compliance assembly robot arm), now widely used in industrial automation projects. SCARA is a mature and aff ordable technology. This type robots can be installed alone or in groups with other robots – SCARA, cartesian or single- and multi-axis robots.
The SCARA advantage At a quick glance today’s SCARA robots may seem little diff erent from earliest generations of machines. Like their predecessors, the defi ning feature is a jointed two-link arm that operates in a single plane. The SCARA extends, retracts and rotates about the axis of both the “shoulder” and “elbow” independently and simultaneously. It can move to an infi nite number of locations within the envelope defi ned by the maximum extension of the two links, and can also reach inside enclosures. Thanks to this fl exibility, SCARA technology can handle a wide range of operations such as moving objects, picking, placing and positioning
12 December/January 2022 | Automation
SCARA machine in a mixed-robot cell with programmable modular conveyors
components, screwdriving, dispensing and engraving, among other tasks. In addition to this great fl exibility, accuracy and precision are further strengths that enable SCARA robots to tackle demanding industrial tasks and deliver outstanding repeatability. Yamaha’s YK-XE low-cost, high- performance SCARA family, which handles payloads to 10kg, contains models with specifi ed repeatability as close as ±0.01mm in X, Y, and Z axes, and ±0.01° in rotation. The YK710XE is an exception: With the greatest arm length in the family, reaching 710mm, it has ±0.02mm repeatability in X and Y axes. Their accuracy and precision handle tasks such as positioning tiny mechanical components (small springs or washers, for example), or picking and placing surface- mount electronic components. Their payload capacity also allows them to be used for transfer or assembly of heavy workpieces such as automotive parts. The robots can work faster for longer, and with fewer errors than human workers, allowing human skills – extreme dexterity, problem solving, creativity – to be employed more usefully elsewhere. The latest generation of Yamaha’s YK-XE SCARA robots are designed with a new lightened head assembly and enhanced motion control that ensure faster acceleration and reduced vibration. Yamaha’s RCXiVY2+ vision system is implemented with a vision, lighting and tracking boards that are installed in the RCX3 series multi-axis robot
controller, allowing the management of robot control, image processing, lighting control and the data processing needed for conveyor tracking within the robot program.
The RCXiVY2+ system has a new detection capability that can recognise workpieces from two to ten times faster than the edge detection technique. This allows robots to handle detection, picking and high-speed counting of multiple items of indeterminate shape and size, such as foodstuff s and clothing.
The software To help confi gure a single robot or assembly cell, software tools make robot programming and setup easier and faster. Yamaha’s RCX-Studio 2020 environment provides tools to help manage robots from setup to maintenance and now contains wizards for automatically generating sample applications. These ready-to- use templates help easily program common actions like picking and placing, palletising and conveyor tracking, including processes that involve vision, without having to write commands. There are also tools like an emulator, cycle-time calculator and real-time tracing, whilst a new feature is the 3D simulator for checking, debugging and optimising programs offl ine. Tools available in the simulator include a trajectory display, which lets operators assess the robot’s movements, and interference checking to help avoid collisions with other robots or peripherals. Up to four robots can be simulated together and observed from multiple viewpoints simultaneously. By using the simulator, the positions of robots, the sequence of actions and optimal speed settings can be decided quickly before any real installation work begins. This can save a great deal of costly trial and error, particularly when setting up a multi-robot assembly cell, and allows production to begin sooner.
CONTACT:
Yamaha Robotics FA Section
https://fa.yamaha-motor-im.de/
automationmagazine.co.uk
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