Construction specifications, for suppliers of production equipment in the modern manufacturing industry, have progressively become more demanding. Load capacity, cyclicality, positioning repeatability in linear handling equipment are associated with other standards related to operator well-being, such as the noise level of the application.
Bartell Machinery System, a global manufacturer of highly engineered industrial production equipment for the tire and rubber, oil and gas, cable and conductor industries, has contracted Rollon to develop and manufacture a highly customized gantry robot (with Y-Z axis movements) to automate the pick and place phase of one of the machines used in the tire and rubber industry. The machine automates the production of pneumatic tires, components consisting of steel cables with rubber coating configured according to a particular geometric shape.
The robot designed by Rollon
The gantry robot transfers the completed tires to the automatic trolleys at the end of the production line, ensuring the takt time (4 cycles per minute) necessary to guarantee the required level of productivity, otherwise not replicable only with the help of Bartell personnel.
Bartell designs its equipment in response to specific customer requirements and the layout structure in which the equipment is applied. The result is a very high degree of customization of solutions. This wide variety of options offered by Bartell led the company to explore the technology offerings of several manufacturers before entrusting the machine design to Rollon.
The Y-Z gantry robot designed by Rollon provides linear movement of approximately 3.6 to 6.1 m in the horizontal direction and 1.8 to 2.4 m in the vertical direction at any point. To find out more about Rollon designs, see “Addition of a seventh axis to the six-axis robotic system.”
Bartell Machinery System requests
Bartell required Rollon to meet certain construction parameters, including:
• Adopt a drive other than a belt drive (which runs the risk of slipping or breaking)
• Ensure a noise level below 75 dB
• Ensure sufficient torque level
• Provide at least 2 meters of travel in the Z axis
• Ensure an acceleration of at least 2 m/s
• Ensure a thrust force of at least 301 Nm
The advantages of the Tecline actuator series
The solution proposed by Rollon applies a movement based on rack and pinion with Tecline actuators, which guarantees a stable and precise movement and a handling of loads up to 2,000 kg, thus overcoming the difficulties related to the belt drive.
The application is extremely quiet (well within the 75 dB standard set by Bartell). The structure is designed to guarantee a superior torsional level (the actuator is made of solid extruded aluminum profiles and a die-cast aluminum alloy plate), the stroke is guaranteed up to 2.4 on the Z axis with guaranteed speeds and accelerations of 4 m/s and 10 m/s2.
In addition, the series of Tecline actuators, implemented in the solution designed by Rollon, provides some additional advantages:
• Quick and easy assembly
• Minimal maintenance due to the use of rolling elements (caged balls) that reduce friction between track and guideway and extend the life of the application
• Centralized lubrication (which minimizes the need for intervention)
• Reliable and widespread technical support
The wide range of standard solutions offered by Rollon has made it possible to develop highly customized equipment at costs comparable to those of mass production.
Learn more about the wide range of solutions offered by Rollon. Download the catalog of the actuators of the Tecline line.
