Vacuum Technology Improves Manipulator Function

The new vacuum adsorption system from PIAB North America helps Aidco Intl., or, more precisely, provides a robot arm that can handle different shapes and sizes of packaging requirements. In the industry, where robots are commonly used to load, move, and mount pallet containers, Aidco has designed a versatile robot arm end tool (EOAT). The use of these tools not only provides high-speed “grip-and-release” pallets based on customer requirements, but they also make it easier to absorb cargo with the help of vacuum technology.

Aidco, located in Michigan, USA, specializes in manufacturing traditional pallet handling machinery and packaging machinery. They are integrated partners of Kuka Robotics' robot manufacturing systems. Kuka is mainly responsible for designing robotic arm tip tools for making machinery and vacuum. Cooperating with Kuka, Aidco can provide a complete set of industrial robot systems, including suction cup technology, handling equipment, logistics systems, connectivity systems, and optimization systems for the food, beverage, and chemical industries, as well as logistics applications.

According to Mr. Salh Khan, chairman of Aidco, consumer product manufacturers tend to use a variety of materials that they can think of to make the product into every possible shape and size. This brings more challenges to the robotic arm tip tools that make machinery and vacuum.

In order to solve the problem of increasing demands for adaptability and increasing production, Aidco has developed an arm-end tool for the RoboticStar brand bulk cargo container pallet handling system. And Aidco has also developed many different arm-end tools that can adapt the system to specific product configurations and tasks. Aidco also specializes in the production of grippers and vacuum equipment for the packaging of bottles and kegs of polyethylene, polyester and glass materials, aluminum and iron cans, corrugated boxes and plastic boxes, and wooden pallets. The method of cargo packing and installation pallets.

The RoboticStar system is tailored to each customer's needs. Aidco has developed the arm-end tool using PIAB's VGS 3010 vacuum technology, so robotic robots can easily lift and move many different packaging containers with just one simple tool. According to Khan, Aidco's challenge comes from creating a system that has the greatest flexibility and small footprint. “The vacuum pump and adsorber are only 3 inches and the suction cup is only 3 inches in diameter,” said John Holmes, packaging manager at PIAB's marketing department.

Then Khan added, "We also have to design a robotic end tool that can handle many different product sizes. Often, our customers will have up to six different packaging settings that need to be processed at once, so design standards may be very The vacuum sucker needed for this arm-end tool is easy to install and maintain, and its spare parts are available and can be used interchangeably."

The new VGS 3010 adsorber design uses a Duraflex suction cup and patented COAX ejector technology. It is a reliable vacuum adsorber that simplifies the original steps of size screening, decision making and installation. PIAB describes this patented COAX technology as an improvement based on the patented technology concept of generating a vacuum using the compressed air method. According to the company, COAX technology integrates the internal components of a multi-stage vacuum pump into a vacuum drum designed to provide a smaller, more efficient, and more reliable technology.

When the compressed air passes through the vacuum nozzle, the air is carried away by the compressed air flow, so that the adsorption force is generated at the opening of each stage. PIAB says that COAX is not only efficient but also reliable because it maximizes the use of energy.

COAX is also designed to produce a constant vacuum at low input pressure and unstable (25 to 90 pounds per square inch).

The VGS gripper also uses the Duraflex suction cup, which is made of a special polyethylene material that can be absorbed on many surfaces, even on porous, leaky surfaces and rough or curved surfaces. on. According to Mr. Holmes, according to the needs of different applications, 50 to 60 adsorption cups are installed on the top of the robot. Aidco found that this suction cup has better gripping ability, better lift capacity, and more wear resistance than other evaluated products. Moreover, it provides 50% more friction than other products.

Mr. Khan said: "In combination with VGS stabilizers, Duraflex suction cups can be safely and reliably lifted. They are particularly good at handling plastic, glass and aluminum containers as well as corrugated boxes, paperboard, etc."

Mr. Holmes pointed out that this vacuum pump/tube consumes less air than almost all normal ejectors. It is designed so that it can produce twice the speed and three times as much as an ordinary ejector with the same air consumption. air flow volume. “The reason it consumes a small amount of air is because we can put it in close proximity to the packages and products to be treated, thus avoiding the loss of vacuum,” he further explained. “The VGS 3010 grabber meets us. All requirements for speed, ease of operation, and flexibility," explains Khan. "Changes in conditions and packaging settings are not a problem for this system at all, because the position of the gripper can be easily changed. The modular structure of the VGS 3010 system avoids the need for multiple arm-end tools for common robotic arms. trouble."

"One of the main reasons why Aidco likes the COAX exhaust system is that it is so appropriate for the packaging industry, and it's so easy to control," Khan continued. “When the button controlling the pressure value is turned on, the vacuum pump will immediately begin to generate a vacuum generating airflow, and the airflow will stop immediately after the compressed air is turned off. The light weight and small size of the vacuum pump are also very beneficial to the customer. ”

Changes in packaging conditions and packaging settings are not a problem at all for this system because the position of the grippers can be easily changed. The modular structure of the VGS 3010 eliminates the need for multiple arm-end tools when handling packages of different sizes and shapes.

Aidco's customer is a well-known manufacturer of paint coatings. After they started using the RoboticStar system and its integrated PIAB vacuum gripper, the production cost was increased at a low cost, thus improving operational efficiency. The use of the RoboticStar system replaces the laborious and costly manual installation of pallets that require three shifts every seven days a week, allowing this customer to now have better flexibility for large retailers because these retailers may Requires rapid response to changes in orders, such as changing from one color and model of paint to another.