Three-Handed Robot
So that car manufacturers can use their robots even more effectively and flexibly in body construction, HELUKABEL subsidiary Robotec Systems has developed a new energy supply system. The order came from Magna Steyr, an Austrian vehicle engineering company.
The complex hose package will supply a robot doing three applications: spot and stud welding plus a tool for handling tasks. This means that the robot uses a tool changer fitted on the robot hand to change its hand tool depending on the task. However, more applications also mean more cables in the hose package at once – in a very confined installation space. “We combined the cables for data transmission and system control in the slimmest possible way, to fit them in a 2.5-inch (67-millimeter) corrugated tube,” explains Volker Elbe, Sales Manager at Robotec Systems.
Systems included in the package are the water line for cooling during welding, servo and feedback cable for the motor drive in the welding tongs and data exchange using PROFINET cables. Since November 2014, two robots from Magna Steyr have been using the specially developed hose package. Packages for other customers will be ready to roll out soon.