SMART FACTORY
“
One of the biggest drivers influencing the demands for robots is the internet. E-commerce retailers like Amazon are well known for their automated distribution centres, which deliver products safely and efficiently to customers
current actuators. Each of these demands a high volume of power.
Loss of power in a robot can be problematic for several reasons. The first being that, in the event of power failure, a robot can lose its calibration and mastering values.
Calibration governs the set parameters in the kinematic structure of a robot, such as the relative position of joints, tool-centre-point (TCP) positions and joint lengths. For robots used in the medical sector, calibration is fundamental to the robot’s accuracy — especially if operating on a patient. This means that the engineer must manually re-programme the robot controller once power returns and before resuming operation. This takes valuable time away from production and potentially reduces revenue costs.
BATTERY CONSIDERATIONS To overcome this problem, engineers should ensure that the robot has a suitable backup battery integrated into its system. The range of primary, non-rechargeable, Lithium Thionyl Chloride and Lithium Manganese Dioxide cells and batteries from Ultralife Corporation, for example, provide long term power to a robots control system. Integrating batteries like this means that if power is lost, any critical configuration information is safely retained.
Another important consideration when selecting the right battery for a robotic application is
whether it features smart functionalities like Ultralife’s UBI-2590 MGPP product range. The range combines Ultralife’s SmartCircuit technology and SMBus v1.1 interface to provide pertinent battery information.
Available in three variations, the range features a Lithium-ion version of the battery, which can communicate with compatible devices and chargers to provide accurate runtime predictions, safety indications and maintenance optimisation. This is part of the battery’s management system (BMS), which protects the cells from issues like over-voltage, under-current and short-circuit. The range also features dual LCD displays, which indicate the absolute state of charge of each battery. This allows the operator to easily monitor the robot so that they know when to shut down or recharge the battery. This improves on the traditional voltage cut-off management that most batteries rely on and provides a more predictable performance. Most batteries will also include smart features that broadcast its charging voltage and current requirements to a compliant smart charger. This technology ensures fast, efficient and safe charging because it is the battery that is in control of the process.
ENERGY & DURABILITY While ensuring the robot doesn’t lose power is an important concern for engineers, so is the durability of the chosen battery. This characteristic
applies to the mechanical structure of the battery and its lifetime cycle.
”
Batteries with higher energy capacity tend to have shorter life cycles. The latest high energy Lithium-ion cells, for example, may only operate for a few hundred cycles. This is not an ideal fit for a logistics bot, which would be required to operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Instead, design engineers can integrate Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries. The chemistry features lower energy but can run up to more than 2000 cycles in a cyclic application making it a suitable fit for robotic applications in various sectors.
POWERING THE FUTURE As robotic developments continue to advance at a phenomenal rate and into new markets, OEMs and design engineers need to make sure they are using the right power source for their device. Unlike Archytas’s steam-powered pigeon, the power requirements for industrial and service robots can vary drastically.
Whether it’s a guided autonomous vehicle (GAV) in a factory, or a wheeled-platform robot for moving shelves and pallets, the cost of downtime from robots like these can be substantial to a company’s production. Powering the robot should, therefore, be a core focus for OEMs.
Ultralife
www.ultralifecorporation.com FACTORY&HANDLINGSOLUTIONS | OCTOBER 2019 27
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90
