Simplifying design of support structures between robotic wrists and pneumatic gripper mechanisms, the BodyBuilder™consists of extrusions and clamps. Most square extrusions were designed with linear motion in mind, but BodyBuilder's boom and hardware components were specifically designed to withstand the twisting and bending moments of a 6-axis robotic arm. An octagonal profile and crosshatch web structure improve stiffness over conventional designs using square or round tubing, or square extrusions designed for 1-, 2-, or 3-axis systems.
Patent-pending crash recovery capability uses calibration nuts to create a base reference position for any of the beam-to-beam clamps, allowing quick repositioning of a dislodged clamp. In the event of a crash, realigning the clamp body with a pre-located T-nut quickly repositions the clamp with a 95-to-99% repeatability for the structure. Transition-brackets clamp the periphery of the boom structure for maximum rigidity under moments of high payload. Beam-to-beam clamp assemblies have dowel pin locating holes in six positions, referencing three different planes. Contact pins installed in these holes allow for spatial position measures by a coordinate-measuring machine.
Integral air supply porting allows engineers to run multiple air circuits with a minimum of exposed hosing. Flexible air lines transfer air from one beam to another, and from a beam to a mechanical gripper or vacuum cup. Clutch or locking mechanisms in the rigid tool-changer interface provide a low deflection connection to the robot's wrist. Targeted at pressroom and automotive body shop material handling, the stiff and lightweight boom system reportedly provides customers with increased durability and a longer tool life cycle.
Aaron Baker, DE-STA-CO Industries , 31791 Sherman Dr., Madison Heights, MI
49701; Tel: (248) 397-6722; Fax: (248) 397-6734; E-mail: abaker@destaco.com .
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At the Design News webinar on June 27, learn all about aluminum extrusion: designing the right shape so it costs the least, is simplest to manufacture, and best fits the application's structural requirements.
A new battery design, which replaces lithium with abundant and low-cost elemental sulfur, is still in its nascent stages but shows real promise for giving batteries more energy potential.
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From Dell / Intel® New Paradigms in Design Work Scott Hamilton, vertical market strategist for Dell Precision workstations, 5/2/2013 5
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For industrial control applications, or even a simple assembly line, that machine can go almost 24/7 without a break. But what happens when the task is a little more complex? That’s where the “smart” machine would come in. The smart machine is one that has some simple (or complex in some cases) processing capability to be able to adapt to changing conditions. Such machines are suited for a host of applications, including automotive, aerospace, defense, medical, computers and electronics, telecommunications, consumer goods, and so on. This radio show will show what’s possible with smart machines, and what tradeoffs need to be made to implement such a solution.
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