Posted to News on 16th Jun 2009, 10:22
High-speed robot for pharmaceutical pick-and-place tasks
Fanuc Robotics is introducing a new high-speed robot designed for the pharmaceutical industry. Suitable for packing and picking operations, the arm has been designed for hygienic process areas where intensive cleaning is routinely carried out.
Designed for hose-down cleaning, the Fanuc Robotics M-430iA/2P robot is sealed to IP67 standards. Double seals on the major axes not only keep fluids out but also ensure that grease and contaminants stay within the durable casings. Joints four and five use nylon gears and do not require any lubrication.
The robot arm's high-gloss finish gives a smooth surface and has been extensively proof-tested against acid and alkaline cleaners commonly used for daily sanitising washdown. All cables and pneumatic supplies to end-of-arm tooling are internally routed through the M-430iA/2P to prevent contamination.
With a reach of 700mm, the six-axis arm provides a high degree of flexibility for horizontal or vertical product picking and placement. Its anthropomorphic arm design provides a large work envelope that enables the M-430iA/2P to rotate or flip back on itself quickly, if required, to cover an area of up to 1.4m diameter. The arm can be mounted vertically, providing clear access when machine maintenance is required, or base-mounted.
Two high-speed heavy-duty motors for each of the major axes, joints one, two and three, use Fanuc's Dual Drive Torque, Tandem Control Technology. This enables very high speeds to be achieved by the M-430iA/2P; carrying out the industry-standard benchmark test where the arm moves up vertically 25mm, horizontally 300mm and then down 25mm, the new robot achieves 120 cycles per minute (cpm) with a 1kg payload and 100cpm with a 2kg payload.
The M-430iA/2P is controlled with Fanuc's intelligent controller, the R-30iA series. The controller enables multiple arms to be controlled and has a fully integrated vision control system.
