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PHD adds gripper options, transition plate to product line

PHD adds gripper options, transition plate to product line

PneuConnect with GRT gripper on a UR cobot. Source: PHD

PHD Inc. this month added three products to its line of grippers and accessories for industrial automation. They are intended to help robots grip large objects, make positioning and programming easy for maximum efficiency, and facilitate machine tending. PHD’s products are designed to work with collaborative robot arms, or cobots, from Universal Robots A/S.

Fort Wayne, In.-based PHD said it sells grippers, linear slides, and the widest range of long-life, robust actuators in the industry. It also offers engineering software and Internet-based tools to save design time, support from factory-trained application and industry specialists, and rapid product delivery.

PHD adds jaw-travel option to GRR line

The company has added a 300mm (11.81 in.) jaw-travel model of its Series GRR high-capacity pneumatic grippers. These parallel grippers are designed to provide high grip force, five long-jaw travels, and high loads.

Because the Guardian grippers can withstand high impact and shock loads, they are suitable for applications such as small engine block manufacturing, automotive wheel-rim manufacturing, and foundry applications, said PHD.

Also available is the Series EGRR high-capacity electric parallel grippers, which offer many of the same benefits as the pneumatic design.

Pneu-Connect X2 with dual grippers available

PHD also announced the release of Pneu-Connext X2 kits with dual grippers. They can be mounted to UR cobots for maximum efficiency in automation performance.

The Pneu-Connect X2 includes PHD’s Freedrive feature, which interfaces with UR cobots for easy positioning and programming. The kits come in the following standard combinations:

Contact PHD for other gripper combinations.

The Pneu-Connect® X2 includes the following features, said PHD:

  • Five popular PHD pneumatic gripper options for a wide variety of applications
  • Two grippers for maximum automation efficiency
  • Series GRH Grippers now offer analog sensors providing jaw position feedback throughout jaw travel
  • The Freedrive feature that interfaces with the UR for easy positioning and programming
  • Seamless, cost-effective, end-effector integration
  • Incorporated MAC valves and control board
  • Common jaw mounting for application specific tooling
  • Updated URCap software included for intuitive, easy setup
  • Ease of use

Download the Pneu-Connect catalog for more information.

Transition plates connect UR directly to linear actuator

PHD’s transition plate allows a Universal Robot arm to be directly attached to the new PHD Series ESU electric belt-driven linear actuator. The company said it offers a transition plate for each size of UR arm, “taking machine tending to a whole new level.”

PHD transition plate

This transition plate provides a seventh axis for UR arms with the ESU linear actuator. Source: PHD

With a cataloged stroke of up to 5500mm (216.53 in.), users can increase the working area of a UR10 arm by 10 times.

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Elephant Robotics’ Catbot designed to be a smaller, easier to use cobot







Small and midsize enterprises are just beginning to benefit from collaborative robot arms or cobots, which are intended to be safer and easier to use than their industrial cousins. However, high costs and the difficulty of customization are still barriers to adoption. Elephant Robotics this week announced its Catbot, which it described as an “all in one safe robotic assistant.”


The cobot has six degrees of freedom, has a 600mm (23.6 in.) reach, and weighs 18kg (39.68 lb.). It has a payload capacity of 5kg (11 lb.). Elephant Robotics tested Catbot in accordance with international safety standards EN ISO 13848:2008 PL d and 10218-1: 2011-Clause 5.4.3 for human-machine interaction. A teach pendant and a power box are optional with Catbot.


Elephant Robotics CEO Joey Song studied in Australia. Upon returning home, he said, he “wanted to create a smaller in size robot that will be safe to operate and easy to program for any business owner with just a few keystrokes.”


Song founded Elephant Robotics in 2016 in Shenzhen, China, also known as “the Silicon Valley of Asia.” It joined the HAX incubator and received seed funding from Princeton, N.J.-based venture capital firm SOSV.


Song stated that he is committed in making human-robot collaboration accessible to any small business by eliminating the limitations of high price or requirements for highly skilled programming. Elephant Robotics also makes the Elephant and Panda series cobots for precise industrial automation.


Catbot includes voice controls


Repetitive tasks can lead to boredom, accidents, and poor productivity and quality, noted Elephant Robotics. Its cobots are intended to free human workers to be more creative. The company added that Catbot can save on costs and increase workloads.


Controlling robots, even collaborative robots, can be difficult. This is even harder for robots that need to be precise and safe. Elephant Robotics cited Facebook’s new PyRobot framework as an example of efforts to simplify robotic commands.


Catbot is built on an open platform so developers can share the skills they’ve developed, allowing others to use them or build on top of them.


Elephant Robotics claimed that it has made Catbot smarter and safer than other collaborative robots, offering “high efficiency and flexibility to various industries.” It includes force sensing and voice-command functions.


In addition, Catbot has an “all-in-one” design, cloud-based programming, and quick tool changing.


The catStore virtual shop offers a set of 20 basic skills. Elephant Robotics said that new skills could be developed for specific businesses, and they can be shared with other users on its open platform.


Elephant Robotics' Catbot designed to be a smaller, easier to use cobot
Catbot is designed to provide automated assistance to people in a variety of SMEs. Source: Elephant Robotics


Application areas


Elephant Robotics said its cobots are suitable for assembly, packaging, pick-and-place, and testing tasks, among others. Its arms work with a variety of end effectors. To increase its flexibility, the company said, Catbot is designed to be easy to program, from high-precision tasks to covering “hefty ground projects.”


According to Elephant Robotics, the Catbot can used for painting, photography, and giving massages. It could also be a personal barista or play with humans in a table game. In addition, Catbot could act as a helping hand in research workshops or as an automatic screwdriver, said the company.


Elephant Robotics’ site said it serves the agricultural and food, automotive, consumer electronics, educational and research, household device, and machining markets.


Catbot is available now for preorder, with deliveries set to start in August 2019. Contact Elephant Robotics for more information on price or tech specifications at sales@elephantrobotics.com.
	


	





		

		
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Kawasaki now sells high-speed low-payload RS007N and RS007L robots
	


	
	

		
In response to the rising demand for fast, flexible, and compact industrial robots in food and other industries, Kawasaki now sells two new 6-axis vertically articulated robots with a maximum payload capacity of 7 kg and different reach. The RS007N and RS007L robots are new additions to the general-purpose R-series line of small-to-medium payload (3 to 80 kg) robots suitable for applications including packing, material handling, and machine tending.


The Kawasaki RS007N and RS007L robots continue to offer the operational advantages of the R series robots while incorporating a newly redesigned arm structure and main-unit weight reductions. By redesigning the arm structure and adjusting the acceleration rates in accordance with load weights and robot positioning, the RS007N and RS007L models offer consistently optimized performance by significantly reducing cycle times. These enhancements also spur the fastest operating speeds in these robots’ class (12,100 mm/sec) along with increased working ranges.




The RS007N robot features a 730 mm reach and the RS007L a 930 mm reach for greater flexibility in production facility layouts. The small installation footprint and greater speed and reach of these robots provide automation flexibility for high mix, low volume production, and can minimize changeover times. Both models feature a double-seal construction on all axes and waterproof electrical connections, offering an IP67 classification for the wrist and IP65 for the remaining axes.


Kawasaki’s newest F60 robot controller comes standard with both models. This state-of-the-art controller helps manufacturers digitally connect their machines and extract value from the Internet of Things (IoT), and features enhanced data collection and transfer capabilities to support overall equipment efficiency (OEE) calculations and smart manufacturing. The Bluetooth enabled controller allows for the collection and analysis of both robot and production data and provides the ability to link to the cloud, other robots or machines, tablets, vision cameras and various fieldbuses.


With a compact design, industry leading speed and reach, and an enhanced communication controller, the RS007N and RS007L robots meet the demand for smart and flexible manufacturing, enabling efficient small batch production and minimizing changeover times.


For more information, visit kawasakirobotics.com or the Kawasaki Robotics (USA) Inc. booth 7340 next week at Automate 2019.




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Programmable duAro robot enables automation at companies of all sizes
	


	
	

		
It’s a common misconception that integrating robots means spending a lot to completely overhaul production lines and start from scratch. In 2016, Kawasaki introduced the highly innovative human-friendly industrial SCARA robot named duAro whose mobile design and safety functionality make it suitable for companies of any size. Integrating the duAro into a manufacturing process is a relatively simple change that can benefit the bottom line and relieve employees from performing menial tasks.




The duAro is the first dual-armed horizontal articulated robot to operate on a single axis. This configuration enables the robot to perform coordinated movements, much like a human, making it suitable for applications such as small-part inspection, assembly, material handling, material removal and machine tending. As the robot is designed to fit into a single-person space, it can easily be deployed without modifications to any assembly or manufacturing line. The mobile base on which the dual-arms are placed also accommodates the controller, allowing the user to move the unit to any location desired.




The duAro’s design also reflects the need to keep its human co-workers safe. Low-power motors, a soft body, speed and work zone monitoring, and a deceleration function allows the duAro to safely collaborate with humans in work operations. In the unlikely event of a collision, the collision detection function instantaneously stops the robot’s movement. The duAro robot isn’t only safe but it’s also smart. The direct teach function allows for the user to teach the robot tasks by hand guiding its arms. In addition, the robot can be programmed through a tablet terminal by entering numerical values indicating the direction and distance of each movement. This user-friendly robot with a small installation footprint and mobile base is also suitable for high mix, low volume production.


Two Kawasaki dual-arm duAro robots were installed at a Tier 1 auto parts supplier to work together in a machine tending application. With the implementation of these two robots the supplier was able to double their throughput and eliminate errors. This turnkey solution took about 9 weeks to implement from initial design to commissioning, and an additional week was used to train employees on how to operate the system. The design, build and commissioning of a single unit to a turnkey system can range anywhere from a week to 2-3 months. With a base price of $33,000, the duAro is a safe, affordable, easy to operate, collaborative robot that can meet the demands for flexible manufacturing.


Visit Kawasaki Robotics (USA) Inc. next week at Automate 2019 (booth 7340) or KawasakiRobotics.com.


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OptoForce: New models and enhancements to main robot sensors
	


	
	

		
Robotics technology provider of multi-axis force and torque sensors OptoForce has renamed its HEX-70-XE-200N and HEX-70-XH-200N end-of-arm robot sensors. Both also include several new enhancements — though the sensors’ prices will remain the same. The HEX-70-XE-is now  the HEX-E. The HEX-70-XH-200N is now the HEX-H. Both models are part of OptoForce’s 6 axis F/T sensor family, which…


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