Posted to News on 1st Mar 2007, 21:46
Miniature DGSL slide incorporates pneumatic cylinder
Festo is launching a new generation of mini slide that the company says is set to redefine the market for guided pneumatic actuators. The new DGSL series mini slides are based on a highly innovative design in which the guide unit forms the actual body of the unit and incorporates a high-performance pneumatic actuator. This fully integrated approach offers numerous advantages over conventional mini slides, including greater smoothness, higher end-position accuracy and inherent robustness. The new design also employs a completely new body profile that simplifies installation and commissioning by enabling all sensors to be mounted, adjusted and viewed from just one position.
The new DGSL series mini slides are the result of extensive market research and customer feedback, and Festo confidently believes that they will rapidly establish a significant share of this sector of the handling technology market. The slides are suitable for a wide range of precision moving, pick-up, insertion and placement tasks, and they integrate easily with other Festo automation components.
145 different models
DGSL mini slides are available with a choice of nine different, and overlapping, stroke lengths, up to 200 mm. Each unit offers a wide range of stroke adjustment, which, combined with its exceptional rigidity and linearity, means that multiple slides can simply be 'piggy-backed' to create the desired motion characteristics. There is also a choice of eight actuator piston diameters – from 4-25mm – and three types of damping option. In all, the DGSL series offers 145 different models, making it very easy for system designers and machine builders to select an exact match for their application.
Three types of end-of-stroke cushioning enable users to accommodate a wide variety of energy levels and positioning accuracies. The stop bracket and cushioning components are locked off with a patented, easy-to-adjust thread clamp that overcomes the creep problem associated with traditional lock-nuts. The mini slides also feature end-lock and clamping cartridge options that prevent the slide moving if the air supply pressure drops; this is especially useful for preventing damage in vertical applications, and makes system resets much easier.
Exceptional accuracy
All DGSL series mini slides feature an extruded aluminium body that mounts the guide unit and houses the bore of the pneumatic actuator cylinder. A precision stainless steel guide is coupled to the housing via ball-cage bearings running along the guide rails, pretensioned to ensure smooth and reliable operation. The guide and the slide are pre-mounted and then ground in-situ, obviating any dimensional errors caused by the aluminium extrusion. Thanks to the rigidity of the slide and yoke plate, the new slide realises a repetition accuracy of 0.01mm and offers linearity and parallelism within the 0.01mm range – even at maximum stroke. Furthermore, cage control is implemented using a patented rack-and-pinion arrangement that prevents any slip due to friction and results in superb operational characteristics and durability.
