packaging lighter payloads in the food,
pharmaceuticals, plastics and life sciences industries.
Benefits Drawbacks
Very high speeds Smaller payloads
Low installation profile Less flexibility
Low gross weight Restricted workspace
Long term reliability Complex algorithms
Very accurate
Cartesian robot - also commonly known as a gantry
robot, it features only three prismatic joints, often with
an attached wrist to enable rotational movements
(4 DoF), and can reach any position within its
rectangular work envelope, through linear motion of
the axes. It is typically suspended from an overhead
grid and the installation footprint is often larger than
the workspace, but the rigid structure means very
heavy payloads can be carried. Typical applications
include materials handling, pick & place, machine
loading/unloading, stacking and palletising, usually
performed with considerable speed and accuracy.
Benefits Drawbacks
Very high payloads Little flexibility
Speed and accuracy Restricted workspace
Relatively low cost Big footprint
Overhead mounting
Simple algorithms
Having considered the different robot kinematics, you
will appreciate that all are capable, for example, of
Above: Parallel/Delta
Robot (4 DoF)
Below: Cartesian/Gantry
Robot (4 DoF)
robotics, automation & assembly
‘pick & place’ tasks, but with quite different speeds,
payloads and complexity of motion. As with any
mechanical installation, however, it is important not to
over-engineer the solution, with more DoFs, faster
cycle times and higher payload capacities than are
needed for the application, because that factors in
increased cost. That’s where specialist robot integrators
like ourselves enter the equation. We consider the
application as a whole, taking into account the exact
process, required kinematics, the workpiece and end
effector, then specify the right manipulator and the
right model, with the appropriate performance
characteristics for the task in hand.
Not only that, we will construct the algorithms for
accomplishing that particular task, program the robot
controller and integrate any associated processes, feed
mechanisms and other manipulators into the
operating cycle, then design the mechanical and
electronic barriers for safeguarding personnel and the
fast-moving machinery. Then using advanced 3D
modelling software, we'll simulate the entire robot
workcell or production line, in order to prove to you,
the customer, that it will actually work in practice,
before anything’s built.
Nevertheless, I hope that this brief guide to the
anatomy of a robot means that when talk next turns to
kinematics, manipulators, end effectors and work
envelopes, you can smile knowledgeably - then call
someone who knows!
www.barr-paatz.co.uk
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