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igus® Lda.

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Light and low-wear linear bearings in gripping arm for packaging

Packaging technology: lubrication-free and maintenance-free drylin bearings enable long service life

This gripper picks up packaging units from a sealing machine, turns the individual units through 90 degrees and places them in cardboard boxes. The gripper works with the aid of suction cups. The components used should be as wear-resistant as possible, and at the same time light and lubricant-free. For these reasons, a drylin® W profile guide is used.

Profile

  • What was needed: drylin W linear bearings
  • Requirements: the linear system for adjustment of the individual lifting units in the x-axis should be modular, particularly lightweight, low-wear and free of lubrication and maintenance.
  • Industry: Packaging technology
  • Success for the customer: the drylin W profile systems are characterised by their high rigidity and lightness. The frictional forces of the gripper segments have been reduced despite the fact that the linear bearing is lubrication-free.
Product gripper

Problem

This multiple gripper for food packaging is responsible for the onward transport of product units within packaging plants. For this purpose, the gripper arm takes 8 packaging units simultaneously out of a sealing machine and performs a 90° pivoting movement for a later better product presentation in the cardboard boxes. Finally, the gripper sets down the 8 packaging units distributed over 4 cardboard boxes, i.e. 2 packages per cardboard box.
In order to keep the packing units from damage, the gripping head gives way in the z-axis so that the product cannot be pressed onto the carton with pressure and the carton is not damaged.
The gripping mechanism as well as the setting down by the gripper arm is ensured by an integrated vacuum generation and a blow-off pulse. A central focus during development was also on the adjustment of the individual lifting units in the x-axis. This required a bearing to enable linear positioning, which had to have a modular design for easy component replacement. It was also necessary to find particularly lightweight liner bearings, as the entire gripper head, including the robot interface, the gripper elements and internal tubing, could not exceed a total weight of 12kg. High demands were also placed on the service life of the individual components with regard to wear. Finally, low-maintenance elements that do not require external lubricants were also desired.

Problem

Due to the specific requirements of the gripper head including lifting elements, the machine manufacturer decided to use drylin W linear bearings (WS-10-80), which are especially characterised by their combination of high rigidity and low weight. By using the drylin W profile rails and at the same time drylin W hybrid bearings the friction forces of the individual gripping segments can be reduced even without the use of a lubricant.
With the help of the exact weight specifications of the individual components and the provision of CAD data, the customer was able to simulate the target weight as early as the design phase. The purchased parts could be perfectly implemented and integrated into the overall solution, which resulted in a good interplay between function, design and lightweight construction. With this new multiple gripper head, it was finally possible for the end customer to operate the existing line at the same cycle rate, despite the increased product weight. This avoided a cost-intensive modification of the plant (larger robot, etc.).

Product gripper
Product gripper
Product gripper Original implementation of the gripper arm (total weight approx. 16kg)
Product gripper New implementation of the gripper arm (weight less than 12kg)

LMD GmbH & Co.KG aA, Daniel Gies, Lennestadt, Germany

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