Mitsubishi Electric has announced its first cobot (collaborative robot). Although the company is entering the cobot market later than most other major robot-makers, it claims that its RV-5AS-D-S99 Melfa Assista will offer advantages in terms of accuracy and ease-of-programming.
The German drives specialist Stober has announced a third generation of gearboxes for servo geared motors that, it claims, are the smallest on the market that offer their level of versatility. The company has reduced the lengths of the gearboxes “considerably”, resulting in smaller installation spaces, lower weights, higher torque levels, and a power densities that are up to 65% better than before.
Flir Systems has developed what it describes as “the industry’s first deep-learning, inference-enabled machine vision camera with Flir Neuro technology”. The Firefly DL camera combines machine vision with deep learning to tackle complex and subjective applications such as recognising faces or determining the quality of solar panels.
Omron has announced a new family of all-in-one controllers that it says will bring the IoT (Internet of Things) cost-effectively to small machines. The CP2E Series controllers integrate axis controls, I/O ports and communications functions, and allow the performance of IoT-connected machines to be visualised using simple programming.
The fan-maker Fläkt Woods has collaborated with Danfoss to develop and certify a range of high-temperature fan/VSD packages that comply with the EN12101-3:2015 standard, making it easier to provide efficient, reliable smoke control in buildings during fires. The certified fan/VSD packages are the first of their type to reach the market.
Megger has launched a handheld instrument that combines all of the functions needed to test electric motors in a single easy-to-use device. The MTR105 static motor analyser provides a full range of insulation resistance tests, along with four-wire low-resistance measurements. It also offers capacitance, inductance and temperature measurements, as well as phase rotation and diode-checking functions.
Universal Robots has announced its most power cobot (collaborative robot) to date – a machine with a payload of 16kg, that has a reach of 900mm and a repeatability of ±0.05 mm. The UR16e cobot is designed to automate tasks such as heavy-duty materials-handling, heavy-parts handling and machine tending.
Rockwell Automation has announced a range of distributed motor controllers with built-in safety functions that can be mounted directly onto machines, allowing functional safety to be implemented with fewer components and saving cabinet space.
Yaskawa has announced what it claims is the smallest, lightest, six-axis industrial robot for handling and assembling small parts. The 7kg MotoMini robot can be installed close to workpieces and other machinery in production lines or cells. It can handle payloads of up to 500g and offers a horizontal reach of up to 350mm and vertical reach of up to 495mm.
Emerson and Cisco claim to have developed the world’s most advanced industrial wireless networking technology. They say that their next-generation system “fundamentally transforms data management to improve plant productivity, reliability and safety”.
Pilz has joined forces with the Italian radar specialist Inxpect to offer what they claim is the world’s first for monitoring safety protection zones, based on radar technology. The technology immune to dust, rain, light, sparks or even shocks, allowing safe, economical monitoring of protection zones in tough environments – such as dusty woodworking plants – where optoelectronic technologies may not work.
Rittal has developed an adaptor that retrofits its Blue e cooling systems with communications capabilities, allowing them to link up with smart condition-monitoring and IoT systems. The adaptor uses a similar interface to that available for the more recent Blue e+ systems. The older systems cannot communicate directly with e+ interface.
REO has developed a range of braking resistors that, it claims, overcome problems traditionally associated with using high-power resistors in drives cabinets. The REOHM series 155 braking resistors come in a closed, IP66-rated format that prevents the entry of dust and airborne materials. They are connected to the drive by a screened cable, thus ensuring that emissions are not an issue.
Baumüller has developed a compact, low-maintenance servo-pump that, it says, combines the advantages of hydraulic power transmission and servodrives. The pump is mounted on the motor and uses internal teeth, resulting in a short installation length that saves space in machines. Furthermore, the direct-mounting design dispenses with the need for couplings and other mechanical components.
Mitsubishi Electric in Japan has announced a new generation of general-purpose inverters which, it claims, will be the first to incorporate diagnostics functions based on AI (artificial intelligence). The first 44 models in the FR-E800 series, with ratings from 0.1–7.5kW, will be released in December 2019. They will be joined, from April 2020, by further versions with safety functions such as SLS (safely-limited speed) and STO (safe torque off). The family will eventually comprise a total of 120 models in ratings up to 22kW.
