Automated operation of clamping devices saves costs and set-up times and therefore increases profits. With the serial-ready RoboBuddy, mechanical vices from the AllLite CentroLite 68 & 125 line and the Titan2 / NC8 series can be opened and closed unmanned using an adapter.
Thanks to the new interface, unmanned operation of the new TeleSense 5-axis vice is now also possible. The big advantage: customers can continue to use their existing manual vices and keep their costs under control without having to resort to hydraulic or pneumatic clamping devices or retrofitted table feedthroughs. The RoboBuddy therefore serves as the perfect complement to downstream full automation. Integration can be realised without complex conversion of the clamping devices; only two dowel pins need to be added to prepare the manual vice. The automation extension can be attached via a linear guide or directly to the robot arm.
The RoboBuddy is equipped with a Modbus RTU interface as standard. This enables reliable data transmission via the RS485 serial interface. Interfaces such as OPC-UA, IO-Link and Profinet make it even more flexible. They can be made available via an optionally available control unit. The RoboBuddy is usually used on the robot including the handle unit. The robot inserts the workpiece and the RoboBuddy closes the vice with a tightening torque of up to 100 Nm. The workpiece is thus securely clamped throughout and can be machined. After machining, the RoboBuddy opens the vice unmanned so that the robot can remove the workpiece.
RoboBuddy finds the position of the crank pin independently. It can save and recall the position of the crank pin, the clamping force and the clamping width for up to 256 vices. The addition of the RoboBuddy gives customers the opportunity to automate production processes with their existing resources, even for small batch sizes. This achieves a high degree of automation in the long term while keeping investment costs as low as possible.