An Alpha alpheno planetary gear reducer from Wittenstein is being used on a new robot developed by DB Automation for the injection moulding industry. The main robot arm axis of the Compact Flexible Robot (C.F.R) is driven using a servo motor which is connected to the gear reducer. According to the company, the gearhead is small, quiet and powerful but with huge radial load capacity and high input speed, enabling the C.F.R arm to remove the moulded product in a fraction of the time compared to previous methods.
The C.F.R can achieve take-out times of as low as 200 milliseconds by following the opening of the mould tool and taking advantage of the increased opening stroke required for products with significant depth. This side entry robot uses an articulated motion to swing through a radius and enter the mould area while the tool continues to open. Once inside the tool area, a further high specification servo controlled axis follows the continued opening movement and removes the moulded product prior to receiving the mould open signal via the Euromap. This concept minimises the delay to the injection moulding cycle.
Suited to products with depth, the C.F.R has a proven track record in the production of buckets and plastic containers, and a UK plastic injection moulder has placed orders for three of the units which will be installed in a clean room environment, along with integrated down-stream take-off handling units and conveyor stacking systems from DB Automation.
The C.F.R unit easily adapts to different products through installation of dedicated tooling, or by simple product selection from pre-configured component options available through the intuitive HMI interface.
Wittenstein
