The global site of the UK's leading magazine for automation, motion engineering and power transmission
28 March, 2024

LinkedIn
Twitter
Twitter link

Robots bend over backwards to reach new locations

20 March, 2013

Mitsubishi Electric has announced a new generation of vertical and horizontal robots, up to three of which can be controlled directly from modules mounted in an iQ PLC rack. The new Melfa F series includes six-axis vertical robots, claimed to have a larger working envelope than others of their type, and horizontal Scara-type machines, claimed to be the fastest in their class.

The vertical robots can handle loads up to 20kg, have a reach of up to 1.5m (20cm further than the previous generation), and a repeatability of 0.02mm. Uniquely, the robots – which can be floor, wall or ceiling mounted –­ can reach over and behind their own base. They incorporate specially developed servomotors and have a 0.29s cycle time for a 300mm movement – claimed to be class-leading.

The horizontal robots can handle loads of up to 20kg, have a reach of up to 1m, and positioning repeatability of ±0.01mm. Mitsubishi sees them as a higher-capacity rival to delta-type pick-and-place robots. They offer 1P54 protection as standard (or IP65 if bellows are used).

The arms of the vertical robots can contain cabling – including pneumatic tubing and I/O for gripper controls, and Cat 5 Ethernet cabling for vision systems or other Ethernet devices – to the end of spindle for protection and safety.

The F-Series controllers are available either as standalone devices or in rack-mounting versions for iQ PLCs. Controlling up to three robots from one rack allows them to share data, thus enabling automatic collision avoidance and co-operative control. The co-operative function allows different arms to share the same workspace – for example, when joining parts together or lifting long items.

The robots can also support up to eight extra servo axes. For instance, they can be mounted onto a linear slide so that one robot can serve two or more workstations.

The vertical-arm robots are designed to meet IP67 for easy cleaning, making them attractive for food and beverage applications. They also use food-safe grease. For the pharmaceutical and medical sectors, a cleanroom version meeting ISO 3 is available.

Service intervals for the new machines have been extended from 6,000 to 24,000 hours.




Magazine
  • To view a digital copy of the latest issue of Drives & Controls, click here.

    To visit the digital library of past issues, click here

    To subscribe to the magazine, click here

     

Poll

"Do you think that robots create or destroy jobs?"

Newsletter
Newsletter

Events

Most Read Articles