Robot wars

Denmark’s largest manufacturer of sheet glass and mirrors – is adopting automation to give itself a competitive edge on pricing and to protect its volume business in both home and export markets.

One of the company’s recent purchases, is a Universal Robot. “This is a completely different kind of industrial robot which is inexpensive, mobile, easy to use and flexible,” explained technical manager Glenn Larsen. “The robot is mounted on a trolley so we can move it to wherever we can put it to best use. And we don’t have to pay expensive consultants to re-programme it for new tasks.”

The Universal Robot lays panes of glass on a conveyor for tempering. Gern Glass uses a continuous furnace – the first of its kind in Denmark. Integrated with an internal transport system and on two floors, it is very effective but power-hungry. The robot arm now helps to make far better use of its conveyor capacity, making it possible for the company to temper much more glass for the same power consumption.

The Universal Robot specified by Gern Glas is a six-axis robotic arm with a working radius of 85cm. It weighs just 17.5kg, can handle 5kg at a time and repeatedly positions to ± 0.1mm accuracy. Joints can rotate up to 180° per second. Further benefits are the unit’s low power consumption and comparatively noiseless operation. Designed and manufactured in Denmark, Universal Robots are now available in the UK from RA Rodriguez.