igus is launching a new energy supply system for SCARA robots in cleanrooms: the Clean SCARA Cable Solution is made of tribologically optimised high-performance plastics and works almost particle-free according to ISO Class 2 even in high-speed applications. It is also stronger and more user-friendly than classic corrugated hoses.
The core of the new cleanroom energy supply system is the e-skin soft, a modular energy chain that guides cables and hoses in a sag from the robot’s vertical arm to the end effector. Its separable upper and lower shells can be combined to form a closed, dust-proof, water-resistant tube. This ensures that particles from the cables and hoses do not get into the surrounding air from the inside – even during the wildest movements. “To reduce stress on the cables and increase their durability, we have provided a rotating mount for the connections to the fixed and moving ends of the energy supply system,” says Meyer. “That is what is special about the energy supply system. At the same time, the rotary bearings are designed to be almost particle-free, even during the most dynamic movements.” The e-chain itself is also especially abrasion-resistant thanks to tribologically optimised high-performance plastic. Its ISO certification by Fraunhofer Institute experts confirms this. The Clean SCARA Cable Solution has ISO Class 2, meaning that it is so abrasion-resistant that a maximum of 100 particles up to a size of 0.1 microns can be found in one cubic meter of air during operation. For comparison, a sheet of paper is 80 microns thick, or 800 times as thick as such a particle.
Clean SCARA Cable Solution as an alternative to classic corrugated hoses
With its new energy supply system, igus offers an alternative to classic corrugated hoses, which has two other advantages in addition to cleanroom compatibility. First: the thin corrugated hoses most often used with the SCARA have hardly any inherent rigidity and are therefore susceptible to kinking. There is no bearing to absorb torsion, so they can tear easily. The second advantage over the corrugated hose is that the zipper principle makes the Clean SCARA Cable Solution easy to open, enabling users to insert cables and hoses quickly.
For more information and product details contact Hennlich d.o.o.
HENNLICH d.o.o.
Mirka Vadnova 13
4000 Kranj
Tel.+386 4 532 06 10
[email protected]
www.hennlich.si