“Tech up, cost down” is
proudly on display at MACH 2022 as motion plastics specialist igus exhibits a
new low-cost robot for small scale work and a novel solution for storing and
shipping cable drums – both increasing efficiency but keeping costs down.

Automating industrial and lab-based
operations is becoming more popular with labour shortages and the falling price
of technology. igus, the motion plastics and cable solutions specialist, will
showcase its new drylin SCARA
robot at MACH 2022, the latest drylin robot
in the Low-Cost Automation range.

The Selective Compliance Articulated Robot Arm, or SCARA,
is a perfect solution for pick-and-place and simple
assembly operations, such as those used in medical labs and desk-based
electronics manufacturing lines.

Designed
originally for fruit picking and handling, the SCARA robot’s
simple design, four degrees of freedom and small footprint but relatively large
working area makes SCARA ideal for applications that include small parts
assembly and joining in the electronics industry.

Dispensing
pharmaceutical doses in medical labs and other operations where repetitive,
accurate, short travel pick-and-place type operations are needed, are prefect
for the SCARA robot. Pharmaceutical labs often need to employ small, precise
“take and deliver” movements for dispensing and sorting fluid and powder
medication. The SCARA robot can replace a human operator for these repetitive
tasks, freeing up the employee for higher value work.

In most cases, the
robot is used for loads up to 2kg, is compact in
size and lightweight (20.6kg). It is the
latest drylin robot
in the igus’ Low-Cost Automation range, joining the igus robolink, drylin Delta
multi-axis and gantry linear robots – all designed to complete basic, high
speed, low payload automated tasks to help companies increase productivity.

“The drylin SCARA
robot’s main advantages are having a compact structure with a
relatively large working area, for its vertical size, while being able to
operate in a fast and flexible way,” says Adam Sanjurgo, LCA Product Manager at
igus.

Neat and efficient chainflex
cables storage

The igus chainflex cable is
designed to supply data and energy reliably alone or within an energy chain.
They are subject to movement, torsion, and high loads; so they are designed to
be strong and stiff but also flexible. Storing long, strong cables neatly is
essential for both a clutter-free working space and for shopfloor health and
safety.

The chainflex CASE is
a cable storage box fitted with a drum for reeling the cable and is the size of
a standard storage box, making it easy to handle. The box allows the drum to be
delivered without a pallet and doubles as a neat storage solution. As these
boxes can be stacked, using the through carrying handles, customers can
organise their storage location with far more flexibility than with pallets. A
QR code on the box carton enables easy reordering online.

As the chainflex CASE avoids
pallets, users can save up to 84% in shipping costs compared to standard pallet
shipping, reducing environmental impact

“As with all our products, igus
has invested time to design the chainflex CASE to
answer a genuine industry need; making cable storage easier and more flexible,
reducing costs and reducing carbon to help the environment,” says igus UK
managing director Matthew Aldridge.

He adds, “The SCARA low-cost
automation robot is a brilliant solution for labs and desktop assemblies, again
designed to answer the needs of businesses that need to speed up this
repetitive work.”