TM Robotics (Europe) has launched new ethernet and devicenet fieldbus systems that complement its existing range of SCARA and Cartesian robots. The interfaces connect to the Toshiba SR7000 controller.
The ethernet interface is designed for analogue, digital and serial input/output modules. It can be attached to an existing TCP/IP ethernet network, built into an independent control network or used with a PC or industrial controller that can be directly connected to the ethernet using a crossover cable.
The system can be used as an inspection device to classify products with minute differences into separate groups. For example, a Toshiba SR-654HSP robot picks up cylindrical pins with diameters of 14mm and 13.8mm and checks their diameter using a laser sensor. The robot's Toshiba SR7000 controller decides on which of two pre-prepared stands to put the different pins. If the pin belongs to the 14mm group, it is placed on the right stand, if it belongs to the 13.8mm group, it is placed on the left stand. At the same time, the SR7000 sends the diameter value to a PC via the ethernet interface and its value is then displayed on the display screen. The on-screen display includes information such as the number of pins in each group and the quality of the goods.
The laser sensor comes with its own display unit so that the user can check the data.
