Lower Compressed Air Consumption, Compact Servo-Driven Rotary Axes and Easier Camera Integration

Wittmann has focused on compressed air consumption because it’s often the most expensive form of energy in production plants. At Fakuma, the company shows how EcoVacuum provides a vacuum solution for linear robots, which — depending on the application — can enable the consumption of compressed air to be cut considerably. These reductions are achieved through the application of demand-based vacuum control. Following vacuum buildup, the Venturi nozzle will only come on again before the negative pressure becomes too low to hold the part safely in place, with the vacuum limit values able to be calculated individually for each specific part.

The largest energy-saving potential is possible when handling inserts or molded parts with a smooth surface. For structured surfaces, however, the vacuum must be readjusted more often. During Fakuma, a Primus 128 linear robot demonstrates how EcoVacuum, which is available for the entire range of Wittmann robots, works in practice.

Wittmann says new servo-driven rotary axes can boost performance and efficiency, with even more compact and lighter combined rotation sequences now possible. The company says these weight savings enable higher load capacities for grippers and parts so that in many applications smaller robot models can be used than were previously enlisted. Various combinations of axes are shown at the fair, including A-, B- and C-servo-axes combinations.

At the Fakuma 2024, Wittmann also introduces a new interface it developed in-house enabling cameras from select manufacturers to be able to communicate with the robot. During the five days of the fair, a W918 robot demonstrates live how effectively this works in practice, with the operating screen of the camera software displayed by the Wittmann R9 robot Teachbox. This enables inputs to be made directly on the robot’s operating terminal, as well as retrieval of measurement results.

Wittmann also highlights the previously released WX90 sprue removal system, which has been made available in a stand-alone version with a Euromap 67 robot interface and control cabinet, enabling integration on any brand of injection molding machines. It will also highlight the QuickNew wizard animated program editor. Available for all robots with R9 control systems, the QuickNew simplifies the teach-in process even for highly complex handling tasks.