The International Federation of Robotics reports that there are now 3.5 million operational robots globally. And the total value of robot installations worldwide has reached an estimated $15.7 billion, according to the IFR’s February release ‘Top 5 Global Robotics Trends in 2023’.

The drive for increased productivity, the automation of manual tasks and insurance against a less reliable labour market is behind this rapid growth, and this is especially important in countries with high labour costs, such as the UK. Every factory manager and engineer knows that they need to automate parts of their operation, but it can be difficult to know where to start. As well as the basic robot units, an automation system requires other components including an end-effector such as a gripper, a control system, vision system, cable management, guarding – the list goes on.

The added frustration is that components are not always compatible with each other, so building a robot to perform even a simple task becomes an engineering design project – and often companies are not confident in their skills for such work.

This problem is exactly what RBTX is designed to tackle. Launched in 2020 in Germany and in late 2022 in the UK, RBTX.com is an online platform that allows engineers and buyers to configure a robot to precisely meet his or her needs, for the first time. The first step is to select the most appropriate robot for the task, using a simple selection tool that shows capabilities including payload, axes, reach and cost. The platform is semi-agnostic, in that several different manufacturers are represented here, including Igus, Epson, Variobotic and Universal Robots.

Live technical support

Companies and users can also schedule a trial operation of their system physically or virtually, by testing the robots reach, its end effector operation and other features online – giving you confidence that the system can do what you want it to do. Igus robot engineers support the platform, and provide users with live advice and troubleshooting, to again ensure the equipment will fulfil their needs.

After choosing the most suitable robot for the job, the user is then guided through the rest of the selection process, choosing the suitable end-effector or gripper, vision system, safety systems and any material handling and conveyors required to move parts to and from the work zone. The RBTX tool has in-built intelligence that prevents certain parts which are incompatible from being selected. Any adapter plates or brackets which are required to fix the robot are added automatically so users do not forget these.

The price of the package you’ve built is shown, and users can change equipment if it does not fit their budget. The complete system can be ordered, all parts will be delivered together, will fit together, and will work together.

RBTX allows anyone to implement automation and robotics in their factory, assembly area, pharmaceutical or science lab or processing facility.  The design and selection process is simplified, and de-risks the complete process.

Visit the Igus website for more information

See all stories for Igus

Santa’s workshop is known for being pretty busy 364 days a year, especially around Christmas season. Elves are at the heart of production, helping Santa meet demand, before the reindeers deliver the gifts on Christmas Eve. But after long hours of working, even elves lose their sparkle.

Because of the vast number of gifts being produced in Santa’s factory, it’s important for the elves to maintain organisation, consistency and a fast pace during every step of the production. When controlled by an industrial PC with TwinCAT software, the XTS linear transport system can move the presents through the assembly line, with its magnetically driven movers. Due to the different geometries of the motor modules, both an open and a closed travel path can be created.

Santa’s elves also have to contend with several different assembly lines, each one dedicated to one of this year’s most popular gifts. The XPlanar motor system with up to six degrees of freedom can transport different toys through the assembly line, able to move items weighing between 1 and 4.2 kilograms.

Robots are commonplace in many factories today, and Santa’s should be no exception. Beckhoff’s ATRO offers a robot structure that can adapt to different applications to meet the requirements of each manufacturer. With its seven axes, it enables almost limitless combinations of mechanics, so it is the perfect tool to assemble any kind of gift. It also helps improve product accuracy, resulting in less material waste during the toy-building operation and no disappointed faces on Christmas morning with a toy that doesn’t work.

To help with quality checks at the end of the manufacturing process, elves can use TwinCAT Vision — an integrated image processing solution. This helps warehouse managers get real-time updates through every stage of the supply chain, providing useful information about process efficiency and quality.

Once the gifts are ready to be shipped, Beckhoff’s PC- and EtherCAT-based control technology can be used to automate individual packaging systems, as well as entire lines including tasks such as forming, filling, labelling, and boxing using just a single platform to control it.

Visit the Beckhoff website for more information

Instead of needing to search across many different sources, machine builders and buyers will find a wide range of low-cost robotics components from many different manufacturers on RBTX, always with price and compatibility guarantees.

Bundling all the possibilities of low-cost robotics on one platform and making automation as accessible as possible is the goal pursued by Igus. The RBTX online platform brings users and suppliers of low-cost robotics together quickly and easily, so that interested buyers can find the exact individual components or complete solutions for their automation concepts that meet their requirements and budget.

The RBTX community is growing fast. “Seventy six partners have now come together on our RBTX marketplace,” says Adam Sanjurgo, low-cost automation product manager at Igus UK. “RBTX is available in nine countries and engineers currently have 259 different products to choose from – from robots to software, controllers and power electronics to cameras, grippers, sensors and motors.”

All the components are combined and tested in advance so that Igus can ensure they work 100% in sub-assemblies. “The plan is to continuously expand our online marketplace with additional partners and products so that users have instant access to an up-to-date and diverse offer in this fast-growing market segment,” says Sanjurgo.

Improved user experience

An important corporate goal of Igus is to “become the easiest company to deal with” in its markets, which also applies to the user-friendliness of online tools and platforms such as RBTX. “We analysed our website and gathered feedback from our customers to find out how we could further optimise the online marketplace and user experience,” says Sanjurgo. “With the new design, we want to create even more character and clarity, and enable it to be used more intuitively. The user can now find a suitable robotics solution as quickly and easily as possible.”

In addition, customers will find over 100 ready-made, low-cost complete solutions and applications, with compatibility guarantees and full parts lists on the platform. For example, there are several adhesive robotic applications from £6,000. The new website design includes an even easier filter function based on the application or industry you are working in. And there are now other product categories such as software, making it easy to find GCODE or CSV files as well as complete LabVIEW, MATLAB and ROS node interfaces.

The best advice at every step

If a user does not know exactly which automation solution is the right one or which components are required for their specific automation concept, they can ask the RBTXpert for help. The expert tool is now available to users at every step on the website and can also be booked directly for a consultation.

Behind the tool are experienced automation experts from Igus who can advise buyers to find the right solution for every application. This service is a free video consultation, where interested parties receive an individual fixed price quotation at the end. In a 400m² customer testing area, experts conduct daily live video consultations and test the feasibility of the planned automation together with the customer.

With ‘Test before Invest’, customers can conveniently send in their automation tasks to Igus. The robotics specialists then test the robot installation free of charge, simulating the customer’s application. “This service is being used more and more,” says Matthew Aldridge, managing director at Igus in Northampton. “The RBTX team are currently demonstrating 10 customer tests each week. Customers then receive a video on the handling test with a fixed-price quotation for their required components.

“We have invested in a Customer Test Area in our Northampton HQ and can also link seamlessly with the RBTX team in Cologne, Germany,” Aldridge adds. “We support interested parties with ideas and all our knowledge, so that everyone can easily find the right robotics solution without being swamped with information overload or prohibitive costs.”

Visit the Igus website for more information

See all stories for Igus

NEXCOM says the NexROBO EtherCAT robotic solution introduces openness and modularity to the rigid robot architecture, unleashing possibilities for in-house development, add-on functionality, and reconfiguration of robots.

Based on an open and modular architecture, the NEXCOM EtherCAT robotic solution delivers development flexibility and expandable functions with both hardware and software building blocks. It integrates a variety of EtherCAT master controllers, pre-validated third-party EtherCAT slaves, and NEXCOM EtherCAT master development stack.

The solution offers a broad selection of controllers, robot arms, drives and motors, I/Os, industrial cameras, and teach pendants. Engineers can choose ones that best fit an application’s needs. Building, expanding, and reconfiguring robots with desired functions are now viable and simple thanks to the modular design.

Flexibility is enhanced with NexECM – an EtherCAT Master development stack. As EtherCAT communication is leveraged for robotic control, NexECM provides pre-validated compatibility and smooth communication between NEXCOM EtherCAT master controllers and EtherCAT slave modules from different brands.

More importantly, control algorithms are pre-written and APIs embedded to accelerate the planning and control of industrial robots of 6-axis articulated robots, delta robots, and SCARA robots. With unprecedented flexibility from the bottom to the top of the robot development, manufacturers can create robot applications in-house, retaining industry expertise and hands-on knowledge inside the organization.

In addition to industrial robots, the solution can also coordinate with EtherCAT-based industrial automation and control systems, extending the scope of automation across the factory floor. For the implementation of production line integration, collaborative robot (CoBot) systems, machine vision integration, and other advanced control applications, NEXCOM experts are at the service of system integrators and robotics engineers for consult and support.

Visit the NEXCOM website for more information.

B&R says mapp RoboX can be used to control any kinematic system with up to 15 axes. Using mapp RoboX, developers enjoy complete design freedom while still benefiting from all the conveniences of mapp technology. The robot is simple to parameterise with mapp RoboX, with visualisation and diagnostics already on board. This saves valuable time, both in development and during operation.

For the next step there is mapp Teach. B&R says mapp Teach provides intuitive teach-in functionality to define and manage the robot’s movement sequences and get it up and running in no time.

Enabling fast development, mapp technology consists of individually encapsulated blocks that streamline development of new applications. The mapp components provide basic functionality that can be configured graphically – cutting development times by an average of 67%. All mapp components are connected via mapp links. Each mapp component retrieves the data it needs from other components using a client-server model.

Visit the B&R website for more information about mapp.

See all stories for B&R

A manipulator arm is used to grasp and move materials without direct human contact. Typically a manipulator is an arm-like device with a number of degrees of freedom. They are used to deal with radioactive or bio-hazardous materials, in places that are inaccessible, or for applications such as surgery and in space. In this instance, JFN had identified an opportunity to develop and supply an easy-to-service and durable manipulator arm that assists in the management of nuclear waste stored at various sites throughout the UK.

Moog’s engineering knowledge, control software and servo controller technology ensured the manipulator arm could deliver a 6-axis solution with accurate motion. The arm delivers 100kg lifting capability throughout its reach of 2.3m and accesses radioactive waste through a standard 270mm diameter port. It comes with three operating modes with options for ‘taught paths’ and ‘collision avoidance’. It employs reliable industrial components including resolvers, actuators, servo valves and sensors that are integrated and driven by a sophisticated software controller.

The Moog control system is comprised two MSC II servo controllers, three MSC I servo controllers, two MSD servo drives and motion control software. The system enables shoulder joint rotation of ±130º, shoulder pitch ±90º, elbow pitch of ±130º, wrist rotate ±130º, wrist pitch ±130º, continuous tool rotate and end effector grip width of 0-150mm. All key Moog motion control components are located outside the radiated area.

Matthew Journee, JFN operations manager, comments: “We designed ModuMan around conventional hydraulic actuators coupled with proven industrial instrumentation and control elements to ensure robustness. To ensure maximum maintainability, we also decided to locate vital control elements outside the operating cell. The successful collaboration with Moog helped us to deliver the required product performance. The first ModuMan 100 has been shipped to the end user to commence evaluation and trials at a UK nuclear test facility.”

Moog applications engineer Andrew Smith adds: “We are pleased that our engineers and motion control products successfully assisted James Fisher Nuclear in the product development of the ModuMan 100 manipulator. Clearly two specialities came together. James Fisher Nuclear’s specialty in engineering, manufacturing and technical services for applications within challenging environments or with high integrity requirements and Moog’s specialty in designing and building reliable motion control products proven in extreme environments such as wind energy, oil and gas exploration and steam turbines.”

Visit the Moog website for further information.

Available in print or downloadable PDF, from the Trio website, the brochure covers Cartesian with wrist, linear parallel and X-Y single belt transformations and moves on to more complex types of robot including Parallel 2-Arm, Delta 3-Arm, Wire Positioning, 6 Axis Anthropomorphic and SCARA geometries. Up to 8 robots per controller may be programmed using standard motion commands with up to 32 different tools offsets and 32 defined coordinate systems. A brief description of supported features that allow interaction of the transformation commands with multiple end effectors, different coordinate systems, vision systems, conveyor synchronisation and teach systems is also included.

Visit the Trio Motion website for more information.

See all stories for Trio Motion

Pictured right: Robot safety is assured with B&R’s SafeROBOTICS software module, making it possible for humans and robots to work side by side.

Following in the footsteps of their machine colleagues, industrial robots are assuming more and more responsibility in modern production lines. The most widely used type is an articulated arm robot with six electromechanical axes of movement. B&R has taken it upon itself to boost robot safety so that robots can be liberated from the confines of safety gates and enclosures.

The requirements for industrial robot safety and safe robotic systems and their integration in workplace environments with human workers are defined in ISO 10218, Parts 1 and 2. Among other things, these standards specify the maximum strain to which the human body is permitted to be subjected. These defined upper limits ensure that humans working alongside robots are not exposed to any serious danger. As a general guideline it can be said that a safe limited force of up to 150N, a safe reduced speed of up to 250mm/s and automatic stop capabilities ensure that any collisions will be harmless, delivering robot safety.

TÜV-certified safety at the TCP

A TÜV-certified function block provides monitoring of the tool center point (TCP). The parameters used to do this are standardized and are loaded from a table containing the respective values. This is a versatile solution that can easily be used with different kinematic systems without requiring recertification for robot safety.

The traverse paths followed by the tools and grippers used by industrial robots to perform their tasks are the product of highly complex axis movement patterns of multi-jointed machines. It is important that safe monitoring of speed accounts not only for each individual axis, but also for the robotic system as a whole for robot safety, including the tool center point.

The first step towards B&R’s goal of expanded robot safety was taken in 2011 with the creation of the function SLS at TCP (Safely Limited Speed at the Tool Center Point). This SafeROBOTICS library for robot safety contains TÜV-certified parameter and function blocks for use in B&R’s safe programming environment, SafeDESIGNER.

Users of SafeROBOTICS don’t need to know how the path curves and velocities are calculated. This is all handled by integrated transformation functions. With this optimal support, they are free to focus on their core activities.

These function blocks are used to program safety control applications that run on SafeLOGIC controllers. Safety applications read data regarding the status, position and velocity of individual axes and apply transformations to calculate the actual velocity at the tool center point, which in turn is compared with the specified safe values.

SafeMOTION – Safe Motion Control

On drives equipped with B&R’s safe motion control feature, SafeMOTION, both the reading of the safety-related data and the execution of the safety functions are performed directly on the drive. Robot safety data is carried over the fieldbus-independent, safety-oriented transfer protocol, openSAFETY.

SafeMOTION is an integrated standard component of all ACOPOSmulti servo drives from B&R for robot safety. These drives boast a typical error detection and response time of 7ms – about a tenth of the time possible with relay safety circuits – which shortens the stopping distance by a factor of 100 to ensure robot safety.

In the first version of the SafeROBOTICS solution for robot safety, the software module in charge of monitoring utilized a kinematic model parameter block, which can be configured for all commonly used types of robots. This had a significant disadvantage, however, as the resulting safety application had to be certified separately for each type of robot.

Pictured left: For robot safety, kinematic models in the form of standardized parameter tables can be uploaded to the safety controller at any time and are able to represent any serial kinematic chain with up to eleven revolute and prismatic axes.

To spare its customers this expense and inconvenience in robot safety applications, B&R developed a much more efficient solution based on a standardized block of kinematic modeling parameters.

The advantage of this approach is clear: the standardized parameter blocks can be applied to any conceivable kinematic chain with up to eleven revolute and prismatic axes, regardless of the specific values they contain.

More freedom, more convenience

The fact that each robot safety control application only needs to be certified once is only one of the advantages offered by B&R’s solution. Transformation parameters also permit modeling of mixed configurations where the robot itself is mounted on a linear portal axis or rotary table.

Users are free to select whatever type of control works best for robot safety, be it the robot controller from the manufacturer of the kinematic chain or integration in an overall control system. This is possible thanks to the open and bus-independent safety protocol, openSAFETY.

The parameters can also handle constructions where multiple axes are coupled mechanically. In these cases, rotating Axis 4, for example, changes the orientation of Axis 5.

One of the advanced features of SafeROBOTICS for robot safety is a new function block designed to manage the additional degrees of freedom in complex systems. This function block verifies the plausibility of stored parameters. All of this makes SLC at TCP an easy-to-use safety block – especially when users take advantage of the preinstalled parameter blocks for standard robot types provided by robot manufacturers.

Optimal support for users

Users are free to select whatever type of control works best for robot safety, be it the robot controller from the manufacturer of the kinematic chain or integration in an overall control system. This is possible thanks to the open and bus-independent safety protocol, openSAFETY. All that is needed is safety-oriented position data and the ability of drives to process safe reactions in robot safety applications. Drive components such as ACOPOSmulti SafeMOTION modules are best-suited to these tasks because of their integrated safety functions and increased reaction capabilities.

Since the invention of the electromechanically-driven six-axis articulated robot over 40 years ago, it has never been this easy to allow humans and machines to work together safely.

Visit the B&R website for more information on robot safety

See all stories for B&R