Engel Austria GmbH's viper linear robots not only detect their own oscillations, but can also react to vibrations that are caused by external influences because of active vibration control. The company displayed these robots at Fakuma 2015.
In mobile phones, 3D motion sensors have long become standard equipment, Engel claimed, and now the Engel viper robots use this technology and thus significantly boost their performance and efficiency. Previously, robots own expected oscillations were calculated for vibration control, but now, external influences can be compensated for online. Thus the robots now can contribute to the injection molding process continuously, Engel said, and make production smarter in the sense of Industry 4.0.
Due to this active vibration control, the Engel viper robots reach a stable working position more quickly and operate with significantly greater positioning accuracy, Engel explained, which is important for such tasks as placing insert pieces or transferring pre-molded parts.
All Engel viper robots will be equipped with active vibration control starting from size 20 up to the largest Engel viper 120 robots with a load capacity of 120 kilograms.
In revising its linear robot series, Engel said it has not just increased the positioning speed, but it also has boosted the overall performance and efficiency. Within only three cycles, the Engel viper achieves the optimal dynamics for the respective injection molding process, Engel added, for example by reducing its speed corresponding to a long cooling stage without increasing the overall removal time.
Beyond the robots, Engel also displayed a new member joining the ENGEL iQ family of products at Fakuma 2015.
The prefix "iQ" stands for “intelligent quality,” which means that expert knowledge is integrated into the injection molding machine's control unit, Engel said. While the iQ weight control software introduced at Fakuma 2012 optimizes the injection process, Engel added that the focus in developing iQ clamp control was on the injection molding machine's clamping unit. By continuously adapting the clamping force, the software keeps the mold breathing constant even under fluctuating process conditions, Engel claimed.
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