SCHUNK, a maker of tool-holding robotics components, will be touting its PPU-E30 “pick and place” unit next month at Automate 2011.

The robotics innovator demonstrated its PPU-E series products at last year’s Automate show as well. The company says the products are especially popular “since no motor or cables are moved, and the remaining moving components are manufactured in a light-weight design.”

SCHUNK’s PPU-E products are pick-and-place machines that boast precision repeat accuracy within 0.01 mm. The PPU-E30 model is the heavier-duty unit in the series. It employs an electric rotary module with rotary feed-through. It can also use two sensors and pneumatic connections.

“The PPU-E30 carries out high-speed assembly tasks with the highest precision,” states a SCHUNK announcement just one month prior to Automate 2011 (being held March 21 to 24, 2011). “Cable breaks and disturbances of the unit are now a thing of the past.”

Some of the features of the PPU-E30 include:

• Faster Switching and Gripping Times--Cycle time is only 0.58 seconds, including switching and gripping times at a 40 mm vertical stroke, a 120 mm horizontal stroke, and a moving mass of 2 kg.
• Rearward Station Connections--All the utility lines for power supply, sensor, and pneumatic systems are plugged into the rearward stationary connection.
• Freely Programmable--The unit is designed for a vertical stroke of up to 100 mm, a horizontal stroke of 270 mm, and a moving mass of 3 kg.
• Compact-Design--The narrow housing of the unit, along with its back panel, provide for compact, maintenance-friendly design that can accommodate “sandwiching” several units next to each other.
• Integrated Software-- The required software is already integrated for plug-and-play commissioning.

Additionally, two integrated linear encoder systems control the vertical and horizontal motion of the PPU-E30. Intelligent regulators control the cantilever arm as well as the actuators without a “higher-ranking” control unit. Up to six integrated valves, operated by one single air feeding, supply all the pneumatic actuators, minimizing energy consumption.