Robotics / HRC

Man and machine are moving ever closer together. Not only in the private sector, but also in industry. While robots and employees in production used to be separated from each other by protective devices such as safety light curtains and safety fences, robots and employees are now separated from each other by safety barriers. Collaborative robots have been on the rise for several years now. And not only in large corporations, but also increasingly in SMEs. In the classic protection areas in which the fully automated robots used to work, manual intervention was necessary.Operation only with the aid of a Enabling switch possible. And this was mainly used during maintenance or installation work when manual operation was temporarily necessary and a person occasionally had to enter the protected area. Things are different with collaborative robots. Employees and robots work here as part of the Human-robot collaboration (HRC) permanently in close proximity to each other, without being physically separated by protective devices. This offers many opportunities if the safety risks are reduced with appropriate technology for collision avoidance or force and power limitation. This is because HRC closes the so-called “automation gap”. It was created by the classic protective grids between manual processing and fully automated processing by robots. Robotic devices only become a real co-worker through HRC. cobots and human assistants, which makes their work easier and processes more efficient.

The 3-stage enabling switch from B-COMMAND are characterised by the following Advantages:

• Exemplary ergonomics
• Low weight
• Light, stable pressure point
• 2 working circuits (Redundancy)
• Auxiliary contacts for monitor functions
• Difficult to manipulate
• Actuating force from position 2 (on) to position 3 (off – if pressed too hard) is identical for centric and eccentric pressure

For slip rings in HRC or for industrial robots, it is particularly important that they are flexible with regard to the media and signals to be fed through. In addition to the pure transmission of power and electricity Hybrid slip rings also responsible for this, Control signals, Video signals or Various fluids (hydraulics) or compressed air (pneumatics) between rotating and stationary components of a robot, or to enable this in combination with rotary feedthroughs. Whether KOAX, HD-SDI, USB, Fieldbus (e.g. 100 BaseT, Interbus, Profibus, Canbus and Powerlink) or Industrial Ethernet – Slip rings for combined signal transmission, data transmission and power transmission must be flexible. It is also important that they are space-saving, durable and low-maintenance so that ongoing operation has to be interrupted as rarely as possible. In our range you will find a wide variety of solutions that fulfil even the most individual requirements for dynamic factory automation. The improved connectivity can significantly reduce downtimes, as the combined power, data and signal transmission enables the Remote access to the machines and thus at the same time Constant monitoring (Operating temperature, position data, speed, oil or hydraulic fluid levels, error messages, etc.). In addition, remote access also allows many Control processes via the cloud, which is why the interference-free transmission of image signals (HD-SDI), sensor technology and other data over long distances is becoming increasingly important. Among other things, hybrid KOAX-Slip rings (also COAX) for use.

The compact design of just a few millimetres in the axial direction also makes them the perfect slip ring for Gripper systems at the end of a robot arm. Here they can transmit load, signals and data without restricting the continuous rotary movement of the electrically controlled gripper. This is exactly what would happen if you were to use cables instead of disc slip rings, as these do not have any Continuous 360° rotations and even the swivelling operation of cables leads to very high mechanical loads. Only with the help of pancake slip rings can robot arms perform their well-known flexible movement. Lightness and speed. The important dynamics of a robotic arm with a gripper are essentially determined by its movement capability, as well as its Low weightt and its Shortest possible overall length determined. Disc slip rings, which only have an installation height of a few millimetres in the direction of the longitudinal axis and have a very low dead weight, are the ideal choice for transferring loads, data and signals. This is because the shorter the robot arm, the faster it can move. Interference-free transmission is also important for high system availability. This is ensured by the numerous contacts (brushes) per transmission path, each of which has its own micro-springs. This redundancy ensures interference-free transmission of control signals, power and data in an electric gripper system. The many contact points also enable a very low contact pressure – necessary for interference-free transmission – which makes the pancake slip rings virtually maintenance-free and very durable. If disc slip rings are combined with a rotary encoder, the transmission of position data is also possible. Pancake slip rings are available from our subsidiary rotarX.

Main switches are elementary Switching and protective devices for safe machine control and are also used for personal protection. For example, they can be used as Repair switch can be used to create large Switch off machines and systems quickly, so that you can safely Maintenance work. Or you can use the emergency stop function to protect equipment and operating personnel in hazardous situations and against overcurrent, faulty switching and electric shocks. At the same time, they are also autonomous, safe and gentle control of machines used, or just for simple manual Switching on and off.