Linear Motion Technology: Making automation even quicker and easier

The range of applications for Linear Motion Technology is expansive: it covers processes such as pick and place, feeding and distributing, as well as placement, separating and stacking, all the way through to assembly, screwing or testing. However, due to the various motion requirements, different linear axes and individual configurations are required for each application. Four typical cases are described below:

4. Actuators and servo presses

Actuators in the form of electromechanical cylinders (EMCs) make a further contribution to efficient factory automation. Compared to pneumatic actuators, they are generally more energy-efficient, low-maintenance, and controllable, as the screw drive directly converts the engine torque into motion. The EMC and EMC-HP Rexroth series, with their ball and planetary screw assemblies in roughly 3,000 different variants, open a wide range of applications for pressing and automation in industries such as electronics and battery production through to automation solutions for fast moving consumer goods (FMCG).

With the optional drive and automation packages from Bosch Rexroth, dynamic positioning tasks with forces from 0.1 kN can be implemented just as easily as pressing and joining applications with up to 250 kN. The Smart Function Kit Pressing also includes an optional force sensor and an industrial PC with pre-installed operating software. As a result, ready-to-operate servo presses can be configured and ordered directly under a material number with just a few clicks.

The browser-based operating software shortens commissioning to a few minutes, programming is done graphically via sequence modules, whereby plausibility checks prevent the system limits from being exceeded. The Smart Function Kit Pressing can easily be connected to a higher-level controller in the place of use by means of prepared function blocks. From there, the servo press can be commanded, and result and process data can be transmitted to the press by the higher-level controller.

Step by step to the required degree of implementation

Whether single axis, multi-axis system or electromechanical cylinder: With the modular drive and automation packages for linear systems and actuators, a wide range of automation tasks can be solved easily, quickly, and cost-effectively – including complete servo presses and linear robots. In the interest of maximum flexibility, the user decides the desired degree of implementation themselves. For example, single-axis or multi-axis systems can be configured step by step as mechanical or electromechanical systems or to form a complete linear system including control software. In any case, mechanical and plant engineering can make good use of the time gained for other tasks.