MOTORS
eyelets that move the yarn back and forth
between the two ends of the reel. As such,
it’s important for the motors used to have
low inertia to allow quick changes in
direction at high speed.
Belt conveyors
Conveyor belts are integral in automated
manufacturing facilities to transport large
volumes of products around the factory,
such as from the production line to the
packaging line.
And it’s not just about getting products
from A to B. Conveyors have even come
to offer other benefits, such as backlit
conveyors used in quality control. Facility
managers can programme inspection
robots to determine whether a product is
a pass or fail based on criteria such as
visible dents and scratches. Illuminating
the product from behind makes it easier
to separate and distinguish it from the
background, increasing checking speed
and accuracy.
It’s important that the micromotors
used to power the conveyer have high
torque to quickly transport products of all
shapes and sizes. Making sure the speed
of the motors can be finely controlled and
synchronised by using an integrated speed
controller ensures the conveyer runs
smoothly. Escapee products can lead to
loss, damage and system jams that can
disrupt the entire production line.
Warehouse data transmission
Warehouse logistics involve the
organisation, movement and
management of stored products before
they are sent out for delivery.
Digitalisation helps keep a record of
essential logistic details, such as a
product’s location in the warehouse and
the time it arrived to be stored. This data
16 » SEPTEMBER 2020 » WWW.MADEIN.IE
can be transferred between equipment to
coordinate processes and be sent to
warehouse managers and operatives to
monitor procedures.
Large volumes of data can be
transmitted using fibre optic cables,
which transport the information, such as
online order contents and product
location, by light signals. For data to
transmit correctly without impairment,
two optical fibres, each as thin as a
human hair, must be joined together with
superior precision.
Connection of the fibres can be
performed using small mobile machines,
which align the two pieces and then weld
them together. High precision motors
allow the machine to perform with
placement accuracy to the nanometre.
Picking, transporting
and placing robots
As well as a seamless data recording,
digitalisation has allowed warehouses to
become automated, such as the Ocado
hive-grid warehouse, which uses robots
for all middle processes with human
workers only required for loading and
unloading deliveries.
An increasing number of warehouse
tasks are being enhanced by automated
equipment, but robots are mainly used
for picking, transporting and placing.
Driverless transport systems allow
automated machines to digitally receive
details of an order and then move to the
relevant warehouse location to retrieve it.
They use robotic gripper arms to lift the
relevant products out of the target rack,
and then transport and deposit them to
the order packing space.
Using a high power motor allows quick
movements of the robots when they are
traversing between racks. Fine speed
control of the motor ensures agile
movements for picking the correct
products and placing them in the right
place. Warehouses can process thousands
of orders a day, so speed combined with
high accuracy is crucial to delivering
orders quickly and correctly.
EMS Ltd is the sole UK and Ireland
supplier of aulhaber motors, which offer a
superior combination of high torque and
precision, while being compact enough to
fit in machines with small space
envelopes. In particular, the BXT H motor
range can produce torque levels up to 92
milli newton-meters (mNm), and a
continuous output of up to 60 watts (W).
When combined with the complementary
integrated speed controller, which only
adds on 6.2 millimetres (mm) in length,
mechanical speed can be controlled from
200–10,000 min-1.
The global Lighthouse network shares
insight into how automation can increase
productivity, but facility managers are
now looking for ways to enhance their
automated processes. Choosing precise,
high torque motors increases the speed
and accuracy of automated machinery,
which helps bring products quickly from
factory floor to customer door. MADE
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