3 minute read
Less is more
SMC Corporation has launched a new award-winning wireless solution for robotic applications. Ming Liu, Head of Product and Pricing at SMC Corporation explains why less is more when it comes to fieldbus systems.
Cables failures and electrical noise can cause setbacks in the warehouse, Ming Liu, Head of Product and Pricing at SMC Corporation says. SMC Corporation has designed a new wireless fieldbus system for industrial robots. The EX600-W, which is currently being used in the food, beverage and packing industries recently won the Technical Innovation of the Year Award at the 2019 Motion Control Awards in the UK.
The EX600-W is a decentralised wireless fieldbus system, compatible with industrial Ethernet, which allows the connection of several remote modules to a base module unit without having to use communication cables. According to Ming, the solution can withstand electric noise and is suitable for harsh, industrial environments. “This wireless fieldbus system integrates both digital and analogue signals, as well as pneumatic valve islands – making it a flexible solution for all applications.
In noisy environments and harsh environments this unit remains steadfast with Ming saying that “The EX600-W uses the 2.4 GHz ISM frequency band and five msec frequency hopping. The noise resistance design makes it even suitable in welding environments,” Ming says. The EX-600 is suitable for almost
The wireless unit ensures minimised installation, modifications and maintenance time.
any application and is ideal for welding workshops or tool changes in robot arms. Due to its lack of cables, there is less installation and maintenance and less breakage and disconnection risk.
As a customer centric organisation, SMC designed this unit with exact this in mind. This wireless unit ensures minimised installation, modifications and maintenance time. “The risk of disconnection and circuit breakage is also significantly reduced to both performance and productivity” he says. The EX600-W products are compliant with the all applicable Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) requirements and have been registered to use the regulatory compliance mark (the RCM) in AU and NZ.
SUNRICE SUCCESS STORY SMC collaborated with SunRice, one of the largest branded rice food companies in the world.
A proudly Australian company, the organisation welcomed CopRice to its growing portfolio more than 40 years ago; CopRice manufacture and supply quality livestock feeds. The manufacturing process includes rice brokens, rice bran and rice hulls which are supplied through the rice milling process. CopRice’s primary Robotic Palletiser is crucial to their business. Used daily, this 500 kg payload robot is fitted with a SAS Fork tine gripper to pick and place stock feed SKU’s.
With various sized bags needing to be palletised, the gripper tines had to be in different positions when picking up these bags to ensure that the best quality products are stacked onto pallets for customers. In terms of the application, the robot gripper needed to adjust the gripper tines automatically for each SKU as it was being palletised. The problems that CopRice faced in the past was a limited number of inputs and outputs, expensive fieldbus modules and failed solutions due to vibrations on the gripper, Ming says. Ricegrowers Engineering partnered with SMC to develop a customised solution for CopRice. As a recent addition to its portfolio, SMC’s wireless fieldbus system – the EX600-W - was specifically specified and customised for this application. According to the customer, the EX-600 was easy to install, affordable and the technical and sales support were outstanding, Ming s ays. ■
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