What is a gantry robot ?
Robotics is the future. How many times have you heard that recently? But with the rise in automation in manufacturing, it looks as though it is true. At igus® we have recently introduced a large palletiser robot gantry which is paving the way for a large low-cost robot. But what is a palletiser robot and why do we need them?
Production lines are working in harmony with large industrial robots, farmers are joining forces with automation to increase productivity and even supermarkets are using little robots to deliver shopping. There is no getting away from the fact that robotics are here to stay.
What are gantry robots?
The general definition of a gantry robot, also known as cartesian or palletising robots, is a robot that is used to pick and place products and arrange them into a pile or stack. As a result, it becomes a far more economical method of handling components and allows greater loads to be handled, stored and shipped.
What’s different about igus®’ gantry robot?
By expanding the low-cost automation range with the new drylin® XXL room gantry robot, we have opened the door to new possibilities. The robot has a working envelope of 2000 x 2000 x 1500mm (at the maximum, the robot can measure up to 6000 x 6000 x 1500mm) and is particularly suitable for palletising individual loads of up to 10kg. Compared to other manufacturers of robots with the same working envelope, the drylin® XXL room gantry robot, or palletiser robot is very cost- effective.
The robot is available from £8,000, which includes the control system and another advantage is that it can be easily set up and programmed by yourself via igus® dedicated software without the help of a system integrator.
Gantry robot in kit form?
We said it was easy! The DIY kit allows users to commission a pick-and-place linear robot quickly and easily for tasks including palletising, sorting, labelling and quality inspection.
The idea behind this palletiser robot was to develop a much cheaper solution by using high-performance plastics and lightweight materials such as aluminium. This low- cost automation solution is therefore a low-risk investment that usually pays for itself within a few weeks.
When someone purchases one, they receive the room portal robot as a DIY kit, consisting of two tooth belt drive axes and a rack and pinion axis with stepper motors for a working space of 2000 x 2000 x 1500mm. The package also includes a control cabinet, cables and energy chains as well as free control software, called igus® Robot Control (iRC). Users can assemble the components into a ready-to-go linear robot in just a few hours, with no external help and without previous knowledge or training.
Easy programming
Not only is the assembly easy, but also the programming of motion sequences. Many companies do not have their own IT specialists, so robot programming is often fraught with problems, one of the many reasons igus® developed the iRC, free software that resembles common office software and enables intuitive programming of the robot paths. The software is free and the resulting “low-code” programming can be used one-to-one on the real robot.
At the heart of the software is a digital twin of the room portal robot, which can be used to set movements with just a few simple clicks, even before the robot is installed and operating.
What help can igus® offer with these gantry robots?
Before parting with your money, potential users can use the 3D model to check whether their desired movements are actually feasible. At igus® we have a team of engineers that will offer support during commissioning and show what is possible with low-cost robots, making the investment almost risk-free. And if additional components are needed, such as camera systems or grippers, these can quickly be found on the RBTX robotics marketplace.
For more blogs on Low Cost Automation click here.
To discover more about igus® robotics and automation systems visit www.igus.co.uk/info/low-cost-automation
