In a recent installation, reinforced concrete pipes are removed from the turntable of a pipe machine by a release-handling unit and transported to the drying area at speeds of up to 2,5 m/s. During this step, the handling unit opens the pipe mould and removes it from the pipe with carefully calculated movements then returns the empty mould to the turntable. This is repeated with an overall cycle time of only about 2 minutes for DN 300 pipes. In turn the removal-handling unit takes the dried pipes from the drying area and transports them to the finished part store via post-processing and checking stations.
The release and removal-handling units are high-capacity crane bridges, each 20 m in length, which run on the same crane way. They have coupled control and a permanent collision-monitoring feature. The release-handling unit takes precedence over the removal-handling unit, in order to avoid downtime on the pipe machine.
Another handling unit, the stack gripper, runs on its own crane way and transports the pipes from the finished parts store to one of two pallet locating stations. Here, the pipes are placed on pallets in alternate directions. Meanwhile, a heavy-duty forklift at the other station collects the stacked pipe pallet and takes it to the warehouse.
Handling must be precise. The bridge drives of the release and removal units are configured as asynchronous servo drives, in view of the required maximum speed of 2,5 m/s, the shortest cycle time of 2 minutes and the positioning accuracy of ±3 mm, with total loads of about 30 t and a clamping distance of 20 m.
The four travel drives on each bridge - SEW parallel shaft helical geared servomotors - and the trolley travelling and hoist drives of the handling units, are synchronously controlled and accurately positioned by AC Movidrive geared motors with integrated positioning control and Profibus interface. The position control loop is also corrected using an absolute linear scale to take account of possible wheel slip. The drives on the stack gripper also have AC geared motors with Movidrive. The picture shows the drying area, where the release-handling unit has just placed a fresh pipe.
Smarter motor technology for high-performance industrial automation Adroit Technologies
Motion Control & Drives
Adroit Technologies is bringing Mitsubishi Electric’s EM-A series permanent magnet motors to Africa, offering servo-like speed and position control at a lower cost by combining patented sensorless control with the FR-E800 inverter to eliminate encoders while achieving IE5 efficiency.
Read more...A smarter approach to simplifying motion architecture
Motion Control & Drives
n motion system design, the wiring and drive placement between motor and drive are often decided by default, yet they shape a machine’s cost, footprint and adaptability. Kollmorgen sets out how single-cable and decentralised architectures simplify the cabinet.
Read more...Robotic case packer achieves 99% uptime Rockwell Automation
Motion Control & Drives
DCC Automation designed a new robotic case packer for a nutrition supplement manufacturer using delta robots and a unified Rockwell Automation control platform, cutting changeover time from 45 minutes to 5 minutes, and achieving 99 to 99,5% uptime against the previous 10% per-shift downtime.
Read more...igus puts 3D-printed wear materials to the test igus
Motion Control & Drives
A new igus white paper compares its tribological iglidur 3D-printing materials directly with conventional POM, reporting lower wear, more stable friction and up to ten times longer service life in gear testing for customised, low-volume and replacement components.
Read more...SEW-EURODRIVE’s expanded local engineering capability SEW-EURODRIVE
Editor's Choice Motion Control & Drives
At Electra Mining Africa, SEW-EURODRIVE demonstrated how its expanded local engineering capability, digital technologies and lifecycle support strategy help customers improve reliability, energy efficiency and total cost of ownership across the full life of their drive assets.
Read more...Latest Danfoss automation drive Bearing Man Group t/a BMG
Motion Control & Drives
BMG has launched the Danfoss iC7-Automation enclosed variable speed drive range in South Africa, backed by significant local stockholding of 400 V models up to 710 kW, approved warranty workshops, and DrivePro digital asset management support.
Read more...Severe-duty workhorses powering mining
Motion Control & Drives
Mining machines such as rock crushers, pumps and conveyors need motors that combine high torque with robust enclosures, seals and cooling. WEG Africa explains how severe-duty motors deliver more than a decade of reliable performance in harsh conditions while meeting modern energy-efficiency standards.
Read more...Looking beyond the spec sheet when choosing motion architecture
Motion Control & Drives
When machine builders focus only on torque, speed and price, engineering time, integration effort and long-term maintainability get overlooked. Kollmorgen explains how thinking at the system level, not the component level, leads to better motion architecture choices.
Read more...Economy drive system closes the drive gap in the entry-level segment Beckhoff Automation
Editor's Choice Motion Control & Drives
Beckhoff has launched an economy drive system pairing its new AX1000 servo drive and AM1000 servomotor with the AF1000 dual-axis variable frequency drive on a shared EtherCAT platform, targeting series machines and price-sensitive markets without sacrificing TwinCAT integration or functional safety.
While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained herein, the publisher and its agents cannot be held responsible for any errors contained, or any loss incurred as a result. Articles published do not necessarily reflect the views of the publishers. The editor reserves the right to alter or cut copy. Articles submitted are deemed to have been cleared for publication. Advertisements and company contact details are published as provided by the advertiser. Technews Publishing (Pty) Ltd cannot be held responsible for the accuracy or veracity of supplied material.
printer friendly version