The RP-1AH is the first of a new range of industrial robots fromMitsubishi Electric that defines a new class of flexibleautomation solution for general production and precision assemblytasks. RP-1AH weighs only 10kg, has a footprint such that it cansit comfortably on a standard mousemat and is no bigger overallthan a domestic cappuccino machine. The working envelope of thearm is 150mm wide, 105mm deep, 30mm up and down, and the endeffector is free to rotate 200 degrees in either direction.Maximum speeds are 1700mm/s horizontally, 800mm/s vertically and3000deg/s in rotation.
RP-1AH can accommodate payloads of up to1kg.
Two further models with extended working envelopes will bereleased shortly: the RP-3AH and RP-5AH can handle payloads up to3kg and 5kg respectively.
The RP-1AH uses four 100W ACservomotors to drive a unique five-jointed arm which articulatesin the horizontal plane in the manner of a pantograph.
The motorsare all located in the main body of the robot, transferringmovements to the arm-joints by rigid gears and mechanicalassemblies, so that there are no overhung loads in the arm.Vertical positioning is achieved through a very high speedhelical drive at the centre of the arm assembly.
Absoluteencoders are used for position detection and each motor has abrake for precision and position holding.
The low weight andhigh stiffness achieved within the arm means that it offers worldclass cycle times and position repeatability to 10 micron(0.005mm), ten times better than current state-of-the-artarticulated robots.
The performance specification will lead tothe automation of tasks currently considered too'fiddly' for anything but painstaking manual processes.According to Simon Cassar, Mitsubishi product manager forRobotics, 'We expect the electronics industry to be our bestmarket, particularly the fast growing manufacture of mobiletelephones.
The strength of this new class of robot is itscapability of handling small parts in general and the surfacemounting of electronic components.' He adds 'Robotslike the RP-1AH have a key role in the future of flexiblemanufacturing.
Some assembly lines for rapidly evolving productdesigns are changed every few months.
Under these circumstances,maximising the use of the RP-1AH by redeploying the asset ismerely a matter of removing four bolts and reprogramming therobot.' Further applications are the assembly of hearingaids and other on-body medical equipment, the building ofprecision mechanisms such as watches and timers, and the accuratedosing of complex multi-ingredient formulations into test tubearrays.