Plastic-motion-component maker igus will advance the collaborative-robotics industry when it unveils its low-cost ReBeL robotics joint next week at Hannover Messe 2018 (beginning April 23rd). The maintenance-free joint works in residential and commercial applications.
According to igus, the new ReBeL will robots serving orange juice, loading dishwashers, or sorting manufacturing pieces easier to design and less inexpensive. TheReBeL joint may even allow connection to voice-command systems.
The joint driven by a strain-wave gear and brushless dc motors instead of stepper motors (as in previous robolink models). Because the gearboxes are constructed mostly with polymers, the ReBeL system is light. The BLDC motors, which weigh far less than stepper motors, also help keep weight down. Maintenance-free, injection-molded parts manufactured by igus feature in several power-transmission parts on the ReBeL; these include lubrication-free and smooth-running xiros plastic ball bearings from igus. The ReBeL allows a sixth rotation axis in the modular robolink system, and lets arms reach all positions.
Robotic controls built into dc-motor-driven axes
Control equipment built into the axes eliminates the need for an external control cabinet.
“Cables can now be routed directly inside a robot arm,’’ said Martin Raak, robolink product manager at igus GmbH. “Joints can also be equipped with absolute encoders that remember the position of an arm even when a power failure occurs.”
Besides lightweighting the design, the joint’s injection-molded parts help keep cost in check. “Our vision is that manufacturers will be able to offer six-axis service robots for about $1,250 without a control unit … or to a bit above $6,000 with an integrated control unit,’’ Raak said. “We want to make cost-effective robot arms and applications possible for mechanical engineering companies and even individuals.”
The new robolink will be suitable for collection and delivery services, and pick-and-place applications in factories, especially in the case of mobile applications where a robot arm is mounted on a moving platform. See it at Stand H04 in Hall 17 at Hannover Messe.
Filed Under: The Robot Report, Gears • gearheads • speed reducers, Motors • stepper, Robotics • robotic grippers • end effectors
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