Pick-and-place system is `faster than a robot`

The UK motion controls specialist Quin Systems has developed a high-speed pick-and-place handling system which, it says, is smaller and faster than a conventional robot. The R-Theta system (shown below), driven by two direct-drive brushless servomotors, can complete more than 100 cycles per minute and can place items with a repeatability said to be better than 0.5mm.

The mechanically simple system has a low-mass arm, which can be fitted with pneumatic grippers, vacuum suckers or electromagnetic end-effectors. It is set up using graphically defined motions on a touch-screen display. It can operate independently, or as part of a networked control system, and can be monitored and diagnosed remotely.

Quin`s managing director, Mike Webb, expects R-Theta to be used for applications such as product sorting and carton erection. He sees it as a cost-effective alternative to robots which, he says, are often over-designed, occupy too much space and are too slow for many applications.