Festo Pneumatics  > Dynamic handling and assembly New H and T Gantry systems

New innovative handling units designed for automation solutions such as  robots and handling systems for be-spoke and complex applications.

Reduced batch sizes and increasing quantities of product options require quicker setup times and value for money production.

Additionally, clever adaptive systems, for instance vision systems are being used more often in installations for quality assurance purposes, consequently solutions will have to be versatile, with ramp up or ramp down facilities. With Unit costs being lowered due to greater performance.

Festo has created two high-speed handling units ready to install automation packages accurately to satisfy customer’s demands. The high-speed H and T gantries have been completely created for dynamic handling and assembly operations where dealing with smaller work pieces,  weighing  from a couple of grams to 3 kilograms must be transferred rapidly and positioned flexibly. The robotic controller part of the ready to install package brings together mechanical components and electric drive and control technology produce a kinematic system solution.

Festo H Gantry > Low design, rapid, accurate and affordable: the high-speed H-gantry

Festo H gantry is a cheaper substitute for robotic systems with delta kinematics. The small design possesses a low centre of gravity with correspondingly small frames of simple construction. Because of this less installation space is needed, which therefore provides a neater layout of production lines. Compared with delta kinematic systems, the axes could be scaled to your preferred stroke. Therefore it is possible to adjust gantries to particular requirements as well as the perfect cycle times mixed with maximised and without a funnel- shaped feeding device at the edges or corners. The enhanced acceleration and braking characteristics allow strokes  X and Y directions from 2m to 1m that has a repetition accuracy of 0.1mm. In addition the high speed H-gantry brings together the dynamics of a linear motor handling system together with the fairly low priced toothed belt handling solution while being 30 percent quicker compared with the standard handling units.

Linear and rotary motions in one unit.

The linear/ rotary module increases the high speed H- gantry by supplying 2 extra levels of freedom and allows linear and rotary motions inside the same unit. The 2 axis of the module can move on its own, therefore this module is perfect for assembly applications. These usually need a combined linear/ rotary motion to make sure you have the accurate orientation of components through a rotary motion because they leave a feeding device before they are assembled. The linear/rotary module includes a sleeve that has an integrated energy supply through-feed for the front-end module and forms a Z-axis onto which a gripper unit is connected. The linear/rotary module can accelerate at 20m/s2 to a speed of 1.5m/s. This enables the use of vacuum and mechanical grippers with workpieces which weigh up to 1 kg.

Small and dynamic: the high speed T gantry.

The T-gantry is based within the same technology as the H-gantry. As a high-speed pick & place module, it makes it possible for more dynamic operation than traditional linear gantries that can also be scaled to any desired stroke. The T-gantry is extremely small while offering impressive high acceleration in the Z direction, with stokes in the X direction of a maximum 2000mm, in the y direction of a maximum of 1000mm and in the z direction of a maximum 300mm with a repetition accuracy of 0.1mm

Clever design feature

The two gantries achieve speeds as high as 5m/s as well as an acceleration to as much as 50m/s2 over the whole working area via a ingenious design feature: the 2 toothed-belt axes are attached to the cross-arm through a individual recirculating toothed belt around the drive shaft. This toothed belt is driven by two parallel, fixed position servo motors from Festo’s EMMS series. The positive side-effect is that there is no moving motor on the X/Y plane with its two degrees of freedom. This couple of factors (recirculating toothed belt and lower masses due to two parallel, fixed position servo motors) allows fast dynamic motions to be accomplished. Find out more about Festo handling systems today from Electroquip on 01795 473714