Bosch Rexroth is gearing up for several new conveyor
introductions at National
Manufacturing Week later this month in Chicago. They include units that will carry
heavier loads and ones which will handle solar panels.
The solar push springs from the growth in that industry,
according to Kevin Gingerich, director
of marketing services for B-R's Linear Motion and Assembly Technologies.
"The solar industry does not know what it needs and is
growing at 40 percent a year," says Gingerich. "They are getting to the point where
they need to automate. There are no standards. We want to polish up this
technology and create a standard."
The new conveyor breaks from tradition because the solar
panel itself is the work piece carrier. "A typical assembly line has a
[separate] work piece carrier. You can stop it, turn it and lift it," says Gingerich. "In this case, the solar panel is the transport medium."
B-R will also add two new heavy-weight conveyors to its TS
or Transfer System line. The TS5 will carry up to 660 lbs and the
TS6 will carry up to 1,000 lbs when it comes out next year. The TS6
will be a static display at NMW while the TS5 will be operating, according to
Gingerich.
Until now, B-R's conveyors carried between 200-300 lbs,
Gingerich says. "They are used for Bosch kinds of things such as a fuel
injection system." Now they will be able to handle heavier subassemblies such
as an auto transmission.
Gingerich says B-R has also signed an agreement to sell
clean room conveyors from Middlesex Industries.
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