Reduce Engineering Difficulties With Cartesian Robot Systems

Even if you start with a basic setup, gantry systems often require more than 100 hours of engineering activity, including specifying dozens of parts across many vendors. With countless failure points and a multitude of suppliers, it’s hard to know who to call when something goes wrong. Generally, the end user calls the system integrator or distributor, hoping for adequate post-sale technical support and troubleshooting.

Even if you start with a basic setup, gantry systems often require more than 100 hours of engineering activity, including specifying dozens of parts across many vendors. With countless failure points and a multitude of suppliers, it’s hard to know who to call when something goes wrong. Generally, the end user calls the system integrator or distributor, hoping for adequate post-sale technical support and troubleshooting.

But another option is specifying a pre-engineered Cartesian robot with the mechanical system and controls already in place and ready to go. One new offering in this arena is our Motion Box system. 

Easy setup

Motion Box covers everything from the human-machine interface (HMI) on one side to the output of reliable motion on the other end. Even the cable management is included, helping reduce the difficulty of setting up the system.

The initial system setup is already complete so end users can get parts moving in a reliable and repeatable manner. The time from pulling it out of the box to entering programming mode is about two hours. Regarding flexibility, Motion Box has six sizes to suit more than 80% of all Cartesian motion applications:

• 12x12x12 inches
• 16x16x16 inches
• 20x20x20 inches
• 30x30x20 inches
• 40x40x20 inches
• 60x40x20 inches 

After defining the available space and required motion footprint, the next step is checking the load and speed requirements. Whether the load is 5 or 50 kg, maximum speeds are based on this variable. User-friendly load and speed charts make it simple to determine travel times for x, y and z axes so that the correct system matches the application.

For example, with the smallest work envelope of 12x12x12 inches, it takes roughly half a second to move from corner to corner, whereas a larger motion envelope might take 2 or 3 seconds to make the same move, depending on the load. 

Benefits

The main benefits of using an out-of-the-box Cartesian system such as Motion Box include working with a single vendor for advice and troubleshooting needs, one part number per item and one engineering hour to get the system up and running. Buying a part and buying a robot become a similar task, making both initial specification and setup fast and easy. Motion Box also offers flexible integration options via an Ethernet connection.

The Cartesian robot system can connect to wider automation setups using EtherNet/IP, DeviceNet, TCP/IP, CC-Link, Profibus and ProfiNet, as well as company networks and control architectures. A streamlined control system also simplifies ease of use. Motion Box incorporates the Q-Motion Controller from Mitsubishi Electric, which features four-axis motion control, energy-efficient drivers, integrated I/O and network access and a clean, efficient HMI setup.