Servo-Driven Dispensing Robots

A robot’s dis­pens­ing per­for­mance is heav­i­ly reliant on two fac­tors: the meter­ing prin­ci­ple which defines the deliv­ery process, and the motor dri­ve selec­tion which deter­mines the flu­id con­trol method, espe­cial­ly in adhe­sives and sealants. A ser­vo motor con­sists of a motor attached to a sen­sor for posi­tion feed­back, and allows pre­cise con­trol of angu­lar posi­tion. Although ser­vo motor dri­ven dis­pens­ing equip­ment will cost more ini­tial­ly, the return on invest­ment is greater than oth­er low­er cost devices. Ser­vo motors ensure pre­cise con­trol and repeata­bil­i­ty of both posi­tion and veloc­i­ty. They allow close mon­i­tor­ing of the dis­pens­ing process. For high speed auto­mat­ed dis­pens­ing, a ser­vo dri­ve is recommended.

Ser­vo motor dri­ve tech­nol­o­gy is also sug­gest­ed for: com­plex bead paths, mul­ti­ple parts with dif­fer­ent dis­pens­ing require­ments, vary­ing volume/​flow dur­ing a cycle, and using the meter as a 7^th robot axis.

A main ben­e­fit of ser­vo motor dri­ven dis­pens­ing is that it can main­tain the flow rate of mate­r­i­al even if the sys­tem or dis­pens­ing envi­ron­ment is altered. For exam­ple, if ambi­ent tem­per­a­ture of the mate­r­i­al varies chang­ing the pres­sure in the dis­pense cycle, the ser­vo dri­ve can increase or decrease the amount of cur­rent sup­plied to the motor. Ser­vo dri­ve motors also encour­age pre­set shot pro­files with sep­a­rate vol­ume and flow rate that can be blend­ed between seg­ments. This makes it sim­ple for the user to choose among the pre­set pro­files before begin­ning the dis­pens­ing cycle. Last, ser­vo tech­nol­o­gy enables the user to vary the mate­r­i­al flow rate dur­ing the dis­pense cycle.

Sealant Equip­ment and Engi­neer­ing offers the Ser­vo-Flo 105, a dual ser­vo dri­ve meter mix dis­pense sys­tem for adhe­sives and sealants. The Ser­vo-Flo 105 is ide­al for appli­ca­tions requir­ing pre­ci­sion vol­u­met­ric shot or bead pro­file dis­pens­ing of vis­cous and abra­sive mate­ri­als. It dis­pens­es two-com­po­nent mate­ri­als in high vol­ume pro­duc­tion or in man­u­al appli­ca­tion. Sealant Equip­ment also offers the Inte­grat­ed Ser­vo Dis­penser (ISD), designed to dis­pense seal­er mate­ri­als in high vol­ume pro­duc­tion appli­ca­tions by inter­fac­ing with robot­ic mount­ed applicators.

Ser­vo dri­ve tech­nol­o­gy uses easy, accu­rate oper­a­tor inter­face con­trols. Increased demands for pre­ci­sion, high­er torque in small pack­ages, and longer main­te­nance cycles will con­tin­ue to con­tribute to the neces­si­ty for ser­vo dri­ven dis­pens­ing. Robots​.com offers a vari­ety of ser­vo-dri­ven dis­pens­ing robots. To talk to a Sales Rep­re­sen­ta­tive about choos­ing the right one for your busi­ness, click here or call 877−762−6881.