Compact high-performance robot features built-in PLC

Arm lengths of just 350mm and repeatability of +/-0.01mm mean that the TH350A is suitable for applications where precision and accuracy are paramount. With its payload of up to 3kg, it has the ability to cope with the demands placed on it in the vast majority of such applications. When carrying a payload of just 1kg, it can deliver impressive cycle times of only 0.41 seconds. In addition, the robot's clean room class 10 equivalent (0.1um) makes it suitable for use in low-pollutant manufacturing environments.

With its high accuracy and clean room classification, the TH350A is suitable for manufacturing electronic equipment such as semiconductors or hard drives, or for laboratory use. The robot is also expected to find applications in general manufacturing industry handling small components.

Nigel Smith, managing director of TM Robotics, explains: "It has recently been predicted that by 2015 ten per cent of Japan's workforce in assembly and process operations will be robotic. The UK and Europe have quite a lot of catching up to do in order to remain competitive. Around 920,000 industrial robots were in use world wide in 2005. Of these, 52 per cent were in Asia, 32 per cent in Europe and 15 per cent in North America. Our ageing population and inflating wages mean we are more and more likely to become a community of knowledge workers. Robots like the TH350A allow manufacturers to remain competitive as this happens."

The TH350A's built-in PLC can control I/O equipment, regardless of robot operation and programme. The SCARA robot uses a Toshiba Machine TS1000 robot controller and can be programmed using SCOL, a proprietary language similar to BASIC. As an option, it can feature Devicenet or Profibus connectivity. A further option is the Toshiba Machine teach pendant, an external switch pad that can be used to direct the robot through a sequence of movements.

Weighing just 14kg with a maximum height of 635cm including the cable harness, the robot is suitable for use in very small cells. The TH350A will replace the TH350 in the Toshiba Machine portfolio of industrial robots.