Pick “n” mix or off-the-shelf gantry robots

Citation

(2005), "Pick “n” mix or off-the-shelf gantry robots", Industrial Robot, Vol. 32 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/ir.2005.04932cad.001

Pick “n” mix or off-the-shelf gantry robots

Pick “n” mix or off-the-shelf gantry robots

Keywords: Robots, Materials handling

With rapid delivery, ease of specification and design flexibility all being high on the agenda, Parker Hannifin's Electromechanical Division (EME) can offer plant engineers an economic handling solution with its range of standard gantries and palletising robots (Plate 1).

Based on a range of standardised components, engineers and designers can either opt for a complete gantry robot, installed in a matter of weeks, or for a bespoke line – or space-gantry designed to satisfy the exact customer specifications. Whichever option they choose, the use of standardised components significantly reduces the time and resources needed by the integrator to specify the gantry system; while the use of proven component configurations helps to eliminate the possibility of installation errors.

Plate 1 Parker Hannifin's Electromechanical Division (EME) can offer plant engineers an economic handling solution with its range of standard gantries and palletising robots

The ready-built option – the PPR 50 – is a complete pallet-handling robot designed to automate the orientation, moving and stacking of packages on pallets. Based on an industry-proven design, developed using Parker EME's in-depth knowledge across a wide variety of industries and applications, this turnkey solution employs a high level of standardisation to offer economic pallet-handling capabilities within a very short period of time. Suitable for use with industry standard C-, R- and RL-KLT style boxes, the PPR 50 is able to handle cardboard and plastic containers alike, with dimensions of up to 600 x 400 mm and payloads of up to 50 kg. Available with a choice of either mechanical or vacuum grippers, the PPR 50 has an average cycle time of 7s per box – even at maximum load capacity.

Requiring a floor space of less than 4 x 4m, the PPR 50 provides horizontal travel over 2, 3, or 4, pallets and a vertical travel range of 2 m. At only 4.3 m high, the height of the PPR 50 is minimised through the use of a three-part telescopic actuator on the Z-axis – making it suitable for use in areas with restricted height. An optional C-axis is also available, with a rotation angle of 360°, permitting the re-orientation of individual boxes to help maximise the available space on pallets. Even though the PPR 50 is based on a standard concept, Parker's design engineers can adjust facets of the design to suit specific customer applications where required.

For applications where a higher degree of customisation is required, Parker EME's Standard Gantry Robots offer a solution in which customers can “pick and mix” standard components to create a gantry robot to match their specifications precisely. With horizontal travel ranges of up to 8.5 m, vertical travel up to 2 m and payload capacities up to 150 kg, the Standard Gantry Robot range uses proven component configurations to ensure dynamic performance and eliminate possible installation errors.

Standard Gantry Robots are the perfect solution for experienced machine builders, as the standard components in this bespoke service are selected and put together as per the customer requirement. The components are offered at very competitive prices – because they are standardised – and delivery and installation times are significantly reduced.

These standard gantries are available in various configurations – anything from a basic two-axis X-Z line-gantry through to a complete X-Y-Z system with drives and cable management. All axes are available in a multitude of sizes and capacities, so bespoke robots can be created that exactly meet the needs of the application, as well as addressing any factory floor “real estate” issues. As Parker EME is committed to customer service, custom-built systems and steel support structures are also available on request. In addition to this, to help with the design of bespoke systems, designers can import CAD files into their own schematics with ease, as 2D DXF and 3D IGES files are available on request.

For further information, contact: Tina Hawker, Parker Hannifin, Electromechanical Division (EME), 21 Balena Close, Poole BH17 7DX. Tel: +44 (0) 1202 506330; E-mail: thawker@parker.com