The potential for service robotics is enormous: in kitchens and bars, in the field of nursing or in agriculture and logistics; lightweight robots facilitate the automation of monotonous or non-ergonomic tasks. To make the implementation of such new concepts easy and especially cost-effective, igus is presenting a new modular gear set for cobots at Hannover Messe. The fully integrated tribo strain wave gear with motor, absolute value encoder, force control system and controller are the main components of this set.
"With our low cost automation solutions, we enable design engineers to participate cost-effectively in the future of service robotics," says Stefan Niermann, who is responsible for the low cost automation sector in the extended igus management structure. "This creates space for new ideas in the field of automation: robots that can pour coffee in stores or clear out the dishwasher at home. Cobots that can be used in nursing as well as in industry - and all "made in Germany." Gears play a particularly important role in this context, as they are the heart of every modern robot. This is why last year the motion plastics specialist igus introduced a new generation of tribo strain wave gear of the 5th robot axis. Friction and wear are optimized using lubricant-free tribo-polymers. The use of plastics enables an extremely compact design and cost-effective production. The drygear strain wave gear can be used along the last axis of an articulated arm, linear robot or delta robot, for example before various gripper systems. The new modular gear set for cobots that igus is showing at Hannover Messe 2021 complements the extensive range of igus products in the field of low-cost automation. This plug-and-play solution facilitates the rapid implementation of pioneering cobot ideas without having to think about power electronics.
The modular gear set in sizes 80 and 105 consists of a tribo strain wave gear with integrated motor controller, force control electronics, an absolute value encoder and motor. In the gear set, a tribo wave generator and a tribo flexible ring with external teeth as well as a brushless DC motor with external rotor are used. Based on the gearing, an individual robot can also be designed as a cobot using connections, thanks to additional electronics components. "For our lightweight strain wave gears, I see opportunities in the market in robots whose total weight is less than 8 kg," explained Alexander Mühlens, head of the Low Cost Automation department at igus. "This is because when it comes to robotics in low cost automation, own weight is always important and not just payload and low price. Lightweight robots can be transported more easily and can be used more efficiently on driverless conveyor systems, on 7th robotic axes, or in the near future even on drones." Low weight is also a significant advantage when systems are used in cobots, as smaller masses mean lower forces are generated when collisions occur. HRC capabilities are possible thanks to the electronics components in the fully integrated strain wave gear. Thanks to absolute value encoder technology, both forces and torque can be determined and safely limited using motor current. For this purpose, igus relies on a dual encoder, in which measurement is carried out in front of and behind the joint in order to detect forces and torque levels and respond accordingly.
The new, fully integrated strain wave transmissions will start to be applied this year in the new version of the ReBel, the igus service robot. As a result, this generation of robots will be significantly slimmer and, thanks to the integrated BLDC motors with power electronics, will also be more cost-effective. Alexander Mühlens emphasizes, "Our goal is to bring the ReBeL to market for 2900 Euro, even with small quantities. It should be able to lift 2 kg, have a reach of up to 650 mm, with an own weight of less than 10 kg and a minimum service life of 2 million cycles." The cobot gearing kit complements igus' extensive portfolio of low cost automation - from gearing and a wide variety of robot kinematics to the control system. Low cost automation means cost-effective pricing for new users and also automating as much as necessary. As a result, the investment pays for itself in just a few months. The new modular gearing system will also be available on RBTX.com. At the online marketplace, interested parties can assemble their robot kinematics with vision, safety or gripper components tailored exactly to their requirements and budget. The igus promise that everything fits together, both in terms of hardware and software - in keeping with the igus "Build or Buy" approach of assembling a robot yourself or buying a turnkey solution.
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