New Robot

New Robot - IRB 6620LX

"ABB Robotics IRB 6620LX is a 5-axis overhead robot arm has 330 lb payload."ABB Robotics, supplier of industrial robots, developed a hybrid system integrating articulated robot automation with a linear gantry, delivering a unique combination of cost efficiency and performance benefits, including greater safety and asset utilization. The new IRB 6620LX is a 5-axis overhead robot arm mounted on a linear axis, providing improved flexibility, faster cycle times and an extended working range for machine tending, material handling, assembly and many other industrial applications, ABB announces today.


With a 330 lb (150kg) payload and large scalable work space, the IRB 6620LX offers greater versatility and cost effectiveness compared to customized linear handling systems, the company says.


ABB Robotics IRB 6620LX is a 5-axis overhead robot arm mounted on a linear axis range in height from 8 to 13 ft and in length from 6 to 108 ft."ABB Robotics IRB 6620LX is a 5-axis overhead robot arm mounted on a linear axis range in height from 8 to 13 ft and in length from 6 to 108 ft."The linear axis can support two robots and can serve several stations or machines simultaneously or in programmed coordination, resulting in high productivity and machine utilization. The ability of the system to perform value-added processing tasks in addition to "basic" material handling increases robot productivity while reducing the overall capital investment.


To merge the articulated and linear technology ABB removed the first rotational axis from the robotic arm, enabling it to be mounted either upside down or sideways on the linear axis. The linear gantry acts as the first axis of the robot, providing the same agility as a standard 6-axis robot. The linear axis can range in height from 8 ft to 13 ft (2.5 m to 4 m) and in length from 6 ft to 108 ft (1.8 m to 33 m). The design saves floor space by elevating the robot(s) over the work area. This inherent flexibility allows the system to be adjusted to serve different applications and enables quick and easy changeovers for improved production uptime.





Linear axis of the ABB Robotics IRB 6620LX System can support two robots, each with 6 axes of movement. Overhead design saves floor space."Linear axis of the ABB Robotics IRB 6620LX System can support two robots, each with 6 axes of movement. Overhead design saves floor space.""The new IRB 6620LX will make it possible to access and manipulate work pieces in the tightest work spaces," said Joe Campbell, vice president of sales and marketing, ABB Robotics, North America. "The system will foster the development of improved logistics and production concepts while providing tremendous cost savings and ROI opportunities."


For many applications only one robot will be needed to replace the numerous complex material handling components typical of standard linear systems, offering further cost savings and reduced maintenance, the company explains. The IRB 6620LX can be readily fitted or adapted to existing production lines and the support legs can be configured to suit the system specs and available floor space.


ABB says unparalleled speed and acceleration on the linear axis secures the shortest possible cycle times with highest possible accuracy, even at large distances and with a full payload. The high performance is delivered as a result of sophisticated mechanical engineering and ABB's state-of-the-art motion control technology, ABB Robotics TrueMove and QuickMove.


In machine tending applications the IRB 6620LX offers better handling possibilities compared to conventional solutions as it can access machines either from the top or the side. In addition, overhead rail mounted robots provide open access in front of machines for manual operation, maintenance work, handling of short batches and quick changes. As a result, personal safety is improved, as the robot is not present if there is a need to operate machines manually.


The IRB 6620LX's five-axis robot arm is available with ABB's proprietary Foundry Plus 2 protection, which includes IP67 for the entire arm. The linear gantry axis features IP66 protection as standard. Additionally, the IRB 6620LX is well suited for applications such as powertrain assembly, heavy arc welding, grinding, heavy process applications, and packing and palletizing.


The new robot is available with the powerful ABB IRC5 robot controller.

Robo - Server

As robots go, Robo-Server is a modest little unit with limited skills and a lot of wires sticking out.

But forget reality. The robots of our dreams were inspired by the imaginings of Hanna-Barbera and George Lucas.

The animated, nasal-toned Rosie the Robot cleaned windows and served dinner in a handy capsule on The Jetsons, Hanna-Barbera's early-1960s cartoon family.

The prototype droid C-3PO and his Star Wars buddy R2-D2 proved to be stalwart icons of loyalty and servitude.

For Byron Thiessen, it was Lucas's C-3PO and The Terminator that fuelled high-tech boyhood fantasy. For fellow University of B.C. students Ken Chu, Stephen Tan, Sicong Liu and Jiyan Lam, it was Gundam, a long-running Japanese anime series featuring gigantic robotic armour that can turn a weakling into a mega-force.

What this team of UBC undergraduate computer and electrical engineering students has designed is Robo-Server, a robotic room-service waiter.

If Robo-Server makes it to market, it may be able to speak a few words such as "Dinner is served," or "Please" and "Thank you."

It will be able ride elevators, be equipped with a tracking device, and never spill a drop of coffee. Its operators will know if the meal it's carrying is stolen, or if it's about to crash into a fellow robot.

But for now, the robot is waiting to be judged by a panel of professors grading undergrad projects. The verdict comes down today.

Regardless of their final mark, Thiessen said team members can see a commercial future for domestic robots. "I think robotics is moving in the direction of a home-type atmosphere. It's not just for factories anymore."

Assigned to create a mechanism to aid positive social progress, the team first considered a robotic device to aid residents of a nursing or care home. They later settled on one designed to serve guests at a hotel.

The operator of a team of Robo-Servers stationed in a kitchen will press a button corresponding to a hotel room to put the device in motion. The faux-waiter is programmed to stop directly in front of the room.

Once the guest removes the tray, a weight sensor alerts Robo-Server to leave. Along the way, the robot lets the kitchen know when the meal has arrived and when it's been served.

Side and front sensors act as high-tech whiskers, allowing Robo-Server to gauge his distance from walls and obstacles.

The students had a $400 budget and only a few months. "The software component was a lot harder than we thought it would be," said Thiessen.

The group didn't have the money or time to teach it to travel by elevator and to sense that food has been stolen from its tray.

It could be equipped with a tracking device to avert thieves from stealing the robot and a voice device to add warmth.