Robotics

Robots are an indispensable part of the industry and are used in many different areas. The number of required axes, that is, the number of ways in which the system can move varies greatly. Each application has custom requirements which sometimes places high demands on the technology of the ‘robot hand’. Holding and guiding a welding head, for example, has different requirements than the transfer of an entire vehicle body to a conveyor line.

Depending on the application, the robot has different axis configurations, requiring several connection configurations. There is limited space in the installation channel inside the robot arms, precluding the use of prepared heavy-duty plug connectors. This results in custom installations and cutting the prefabricated cables to length. The robot hand must also be individually equipped electrically, pneumatically and hydraulically. This results in installation times of up to four hours.

The solution is intelligent standardisation that covers the most common options. Ready-made cable sets are designed for six axes. A pair of cables for the other servomotor with encoder is added only if there is a seventh axis. For the robot hand, work is carried out in the arm with a cable set with circular plug connectors, which lead into a flange socket of a heavy-duty plug connector. Convenient, flexible and easy to maintain. The flange socket is additionally equipped with a control element for the brake. The throughput time is reduced to 30 minutes. The bottom line: Many variants – one solution!