Swing arm enhances robot reach

Citation

(1998), "Swing arm enhances robot reach", Pigment & Resin Technology, Vol. 27 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/prt.1998.12927ead.011

Swing arm enhances robot reach

Swing arm enhances robot reach

Keywords FANUC, Paint, Robots

A standard accessory now available for the FANUC P155 paint spray robot is a swing mount device. This reportedly allows a robot located at the side of a vehicle paint spray track to be swung into the middle of the track, behind a vehicle on the line (Plate 8).

From, say the rear of a van, the robot can then access all the interior by reaching the arm inside, or at the front, it can access under the bonnet.

The swing arm movement is controlled as extra axes of the R J-2 control system fitted to the robot. There are two horizontal angular axes, one on the base and the other on the articulated arm. In effect the robot has eight axes of movement.

Plate 8 The two robots can swing to the centre of the track to spray the inside of the van

When in position, these swing arm axes can be used to manipulate the robot, thereby extending its reach inside the vehicle.

By simultaneously moving robot and swing arm axes to manoeuvre the robot out, the distance between vehicles on a track can be minimised without impairing the extra reach.

According to FANUC other potential applications outside the automotive industry include aerospace and coating for large structures such as coating for large window flames projects encountered in civil engineering projects. Allied to painting is the spraying of sealant inside large tanks.

For further details contact FANUC Robotics (UK) Limited. Tel: 01203 639669; Fax: 01203 304333.