Robotics, cobotics and mechatronics in unison on the Yaskawa stand

With more than 100 years of experience and expertise in the manufacture of industrial robots and mechatronic products, this new edition of the major Global Industrie gathering is an opportunity for Yaskawa to let visitors discover or rediscover, on its stand located in the Robotics area, its entire range as well as its innovations and services in terms of productivity and sustainability for 4.0 industry.

A range of high-performance, highly energy-efficient robots
As a major manufacturer of industrial robots, Yaskawa is recognized worldwide for the quality of its products and the breadth of its range. With more than 80 robot models in its catalog, ranging from 0,5 kg with the MotoMINI robot exhibited at the show up to 800 kg of payload capacity, Yaskawa's MOTOMAN robots can cover a great many industrial applications: pick & place, finishing, assembly, palletizing, dispensing, machine tending, painting, quality control, etc.

On show at the fair, three latest-generation MOTOMAN GP ?General Purpose? robots manufactured in Europe are at work in a handling cell, allowing visitors to appreciate their outstanding capabilities in terms of reach, acceleration, speed and precision. As standard and without additional hardware, these robots can also recover their braking energy and feed it back into the electrical grid, for greater energy efficiency in production. The extent of the possible savings depends mainly on the task performed and the type of robot movements, but savings of around 8% to 25% can nevertheless be expected.

Cobots for all levels
In its range, Yaskawa offers a series of versatile, easy-to-use cobots designed with all the industrial expertise for which Yaskawa products are known and renowned. This HC ?Human Collaborative? series now comprises 6 models ranging from 10 to 30 kg of maximum payload and up to 1900 mm of reach, with torque sensors in each axis to ensure safety, including a retraction function in clamping situations that reacts according to the pressure applied. In addition, to simplify integration into a machine or an application and improve flexibility, these cobots are designed with an internal harness to optimize cable routing and allow ?Plug & Play? connection of accessories and grippers. Yaskawa has also partnered with the main accessory manufacturers to offer an ?Ecosystem? of more than 120 ready-to-use products that are also compatible with latest-generation GP series models.

At the show, you can discover and try the three MOTOMAN cobot models HC10DTP, HC20DTP and HC30PL, which can support payloads of up to 10 kg, 20 kg and 30 kg respectively and can handle end-of-line operations in particular, such as palletizing applications, from small footprints to heavy loads in collaborative robotics. As can be seen at the show, these three models offer several different programming modes, adapted to the user's level of knowledge. To start, it is possible to teach by hand guiding (?Direct Teaching?) using the button box installed on the cobot flange. Next, the innovative ?Smart Pendant? touchscreen-tablet programming pendant allows more advanced yet still accessible programming, thanks to an intuitive and user-friendly interface. Finally, for complex tasks, so-called conventional programming is of course available and gives full access to a broad portfolio of functions and programming possibilities.

Mechatronics, the core business of Yaskawa
Yaskawa is one of the world's largest manufacturers in the field of drive technologies and complete automation solutions for industrial machines, and therefore presents on its stand the breadth of its mechatronics range: frequency inverters, linear and torque motors, brushless servo drives and servo motors, programmable logic controllers, machine controllers, displays and HMI, inputs/outputs.

Yaskawa, for example, has more than 33 million frequency inverters installed worldwide to date, which is why, as a manufacturer, Yaskawa invites you to discover all of its variable speed solutions up to 630 kW developed for the widest range of industrial applications. These are high-quality products that combine high-added-value functions and features to provide manufacturers with considerable benefits throughout the life cycle of a machine or an installation.

With more than 25 million servo motors also installed worldwide, Yaskawa also offers a wide range of motors, and it is in this technology that the group has its origins and was launched in 1915. It is now a manufacturer of various motor technologies, such as rotary servo motors, linear servo motors and torque motors. These products are reputed to be very reliable, high-performing and precise, but also very easy to configure and commission.

Finally, an innovation in machine controllers is presented this year on the Yaskawa stand, which is launching its new ?iCube Control? solution to manage the motion, logic, robotics, safety, HMI and network of a machine. All of this is made possible by a new controller using the open EtherCAT communication protocol and complying with the IEC61131-3 programming norms and standards conventionally used in automation and machine building.

Robotic arc welding in all its forms
With more than 40 years of experience in the design and integration of robotic welding systems, Yaskawa is again this year exhibiting at Global Industrie on a dedicated stand within the ?Sheet metal, metal forming & welding? area to showcase its systems and the breadth of its expertise in robotic arc welding, as well as the support options offered by its Customer Service.

Custom-made, high-productivity welding systems
Yaskawa offers various welding cell concepts adapted to the specific needs of metalworking manufacturers, including fully custom-made, personalized cells. Based on Yaskawa-brand components, the systems can include one or more robots and synchronized axes, as well as numerous options and technologies to guarantee the best possible welding quality.

Yaskawa handles all the stages of a welding automation project, from the study of the customer's needs through to the assembly and fine-tuning of the robotic system, including feasibility tests, simulations and pre-installation in our workshops. Yaskawa can thus design unique stations of different types according to manufacturers' conditions and requirements.

Various types of standard configurations are offered, notably the two-station in-line cell, which has two loading stations with masked-time loading and is ideal for very long parts. There is also a ?Jigless? design split into two functions, with one robot carrying the part and one or more welding robots. Yaskawa also designs high-capacity stations with robots mounted on the ceiling on a gantry traveling on rails, multi-process cells allowing several processes to be performed on the same part, and multi-robot cells such as the one presented at the show.

Indeed, at the show, Yaskawa is exhibiting on its stand an arc welding cell made up of four robots operating in a synchronized manner, simulating the welding of a chassis for electric car batteries. Two of them are MOTOMAN AR2010 robots positioned on the floor on risers, and the other two robots are MOTOMAN AR1440 models installed at height on a RWV2 rotary table positioner, which saves valuable space and reduces the cycle time requirements of a welding cell. This unique multi-robot technology makes it possible to synchronize up to 8 robots, or 72 rotation axes, in real time with a single control cabinet. This notably helps minimize distortion of the processed parts thanks to uniform heat input and considerably improves the output of a station.

The ArcWorld family of standardized, compact and flexible cells
The Japanese manufacturer's range also includes three models of standard welding cells.

ArcWorld, compact and turnkey. Built on a platform, they have only a small footprint because all the equipment in these cells is fully integrated - robot, control system, fume extraction hood and power source - making them ?all-in-one? solutions that are easy to install, program and move.

The two most compact models are the ArcWorld RS Mini and ArcWorld HS Micro cells, which take up very little space, with footprints of 2,3 m2 and 1,4 m2 respectively, and are very economical for a first integration into a welding process. As standard they consist of a platform and an anti-glare protective enclosure, an extraction hood, a Yaskawa MOTOMAN AR900 welding robot and its latest-generation controller. In addition, many options are available and several brands are listed for the welding kit made up of the power source, cable harness, wire feeder and torch.

At the show, you can discover the ArcWorld CS, the largest model in the range. Able to support up to 500 kg of payload per station, the cell is available in several sizes ranging from 1300 mm to 2400 mm between centers. The largest version is the one exhibited on the stand, allowing parts up to 2300 mm long to be welded within a diameter of 1200 mm.

ArcWorld cells are therefore cells with which it is very easy to start robotic welding and increase productivity while reducing downtime. These cells are particularly ideal for replacing or complementing manual welding, for example for pre-assembly upstream of welding in a larger robotic station.