To reduce costs, to substantially increase production, to maintain quality standards and still have flexibility is now an essential requirement for any manufacturer. In addition to the outlay on equipment they must have a faster payback period and it is desirable the equipment is so versatile it can be easily moved or changed to perform new duties. To do this the answer is a Fanuc robot.

This is not just another robot from Fanuc, this amazing high-speed 6 axes industrial robot offers increased flexibility and compactness over SCARA type arms fulfilling the exacting specifications the automation markets now demand. The clever M-6iB/2HS with a payload capability of 2 kg now completes the industry recognised ‘pick and place’ benchmark for a motion pattern envelope of 25mm x 305mm x 25mm at a rate of 94 cycles per minute – easily the best in its class.

Being designed for fast pick and place operations the robot is aimed firmly at high- speed packaging and assembly applications. It is a derivative of the well proven M-6iB, however with a new arm that has up-rated motors producing major axes speeds of up to 260º per second and a joint 6 wrist axis speed of 1200° per second.

A further requirement of these applications is to have a compact space saving design which is achieved by using a reduced length between joints two and three compared to the M-6iB. Its six axes configuration, combined with a reach of 0.951mtrs therefore provides the robot with the versatility to place product to, or from, a tilted pallet, or pallets positioned on multiple layers.

A further benefit of this robotic system is that by also using Fanuc’s intelligent R-J3iB controller two arms can be controlled from a single processor. Used in conjunction with the capability option ‘dual arm visual line tracking’ the arrangement allows a dramatic increase in speed of packaging and assembly operations.

Unlike bespoke machines or cartesian equipment specifically designed for a job, stand-alone robots can be moved around the factory once a product has reached the end of its life, and put into service elsewhere. As system partners Micromech Robotics and Fanuc can specify, build and install the right equipment that is simple to programme and operate. Perhaps you are not already using a robot and wish to find out more about our flexible friends, if that is so then Stirling Morley on 01376 333311 or stirling@micromech.co.uk