Two versions of palletising robot unveiled
Two versions of palletising robot unveiled
Keywords FANUC,Robots
Two versions of the latest palletising robot from FANUC Robotics, the M410i-H, claim top performance in each class. For heavy duty performance the HW version can handle a massive 250kg load, while the standard HS version is the fastest in the up to 100kg class with an impressive 1,800 palletising cycles per hour (see Plate 2).
The two new models replace three earlier versions of the M410 which had maximum payloads of 60, 100 and 160kg respectively.
How this translates into enhanced productivity is illustrated by the capability of the M410iHW to handle four to six cases of bottles at a time compared with the previous two to four cases.
The new robots were developed in response to customer demand for machines that could palletise heavier parts faster.
Plate 2 The latest palletising robot for FANUC Robotics is available in two versions
The robot features a stiffer parallel movement mechanism to handle the loads and the new R-J3 controller which has a four times larger CPU. This, together with enhanced software, enables the controller to process data faster.
The control is built into the pedestal base of the robot, thus reducing wiring and installation costs.
Palletising is essentially a simple pick and place operation, although teaching the robot all the positions and component orientations, that make up a safely interlocked pallet load can be time-consuming.
To address this problem,FANUC has developed PC-based software that can quickly optimise stacking patterns based on the input of the component envelope. This is created using menu-drives graphical software that requires no special programming skills. Stacking patterns can then be down-loaded directly to the robot controller.
The working envelope of the palletising robot allows pallets to be loaded to a height of 2.1m. There can be two loading stations per robot.
For more information contact Maurice Hanley, FANUC Robotics (UK) Limited, Seven Stars Industrial Estate, Wheler Road, Coventry CV3 4LB. Tel: 01203 639669; Fax: 01203 304333.
