New robot concept for ultra high performance press tending robot system

This article presents a new concept robot dedicated for compact and ultra high performance press line automation. In this concept robot, several joints (joint-2, -3, and -5) are driven by a double drive-train, consisting of typically two gearboxes and two motors. The concept robot is equipped with a linear axis mounted on the tool flange, mainly for improved cycle time performance. The concept robot is inversely installed on a bridge structure established between two adjacent press machines. The inverse installation of the robot does not require any floor space, which makes the press line more compact. A virtual prototype of the concept robot has been developed using 3D CAD design and quantified using multi-body simulations. Gearboxes of critical joints are dimensioned based on the multi-body simulation and based on lifetime design criteria. The developed virtual prototype concludes that it is feasible, based on today´s engineering practice, to develop such robot for the ultra high performance press line automation.