published on 20/01/09
Robotic solutions are making a strong impact in the design of new packaging machines. The trend is driven, in part, by expiring patents for the mechanical design of Delta robots which has created a marketplace opportunity for suppliers. But the bigger issues driving adoption are the mechanical flexibility of robotic solutions, versus fixed automation, and new control strategies.
Robotics and software
These approaches allow machine line controllers with advanced motion and kinematics capability to directly control the robot, providing higher performance and potentially lower cost solutions. The result for packaging users and OEMs is new possibilities in terms of robotic capabilities, improved line integration, better overall machine speeds and quicker product changeover times. The challenge is selecting the best robotic integration approach for the application and determining the impact on overall machinery design.
“One of the most exciting developments in packaging machines is the trend away from 'black box' controllers for robotic applications,” says Rami Al-Ashqar, motion control product manager for Bosch-Rexroth. “Robotics are becoming more embedded and integrated into the whole machine design and engineers have the same robot controller doing other tasks such as PLC I/O and general purpose motion.Contract Engineers are integrating the kinematics and robotics directly into the overall machine controls, rather than using the black box approach.
Al-Ashqar says, in the past, packaging OEMs typically used standard robots. But now this has opened up, especially with the mechanical design patents for the Delta robot expiring and the packaging OEMs offering replacement solutions for the Delta robot and simplifying integration for the end user.
“Using this approach, robotics is now part of the machine,” say Al-Ashqar. “Contract Engineers can program robotic functions more easily and the same controller can control multiple robots or control the robot and a six-axis case packer all in one controller. Systems are embedded into the control scheme of the machine, versus a stand-alone system.”

Read the full article at Design News.com