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Cimcorp’s new, more environment friendly and energy-efficient automation concept made its debut at the Tire Technology Expo 2010 in Cologne, Germany on February 9 – 11, 2010. The robotic system will cover all product groups step by step.
The aim of the new concept is clear: more efficient and ecological robots are at the core. The idea for this development trend was mainly a result of customer feedback. The amount of energy consumed by the equipment is reduced for example by facilitating moving and braking, and by replacing pneumatics with a more cost-effective form of energy. Compressed air is one of the most expensive forms of energy. In future production, electricity will replace pneumatics.
Performance enhanced by aluminum
Manufacturing materials play a central role when assessing the properties that achieve low energy consumption. The principal material now used in place of steel is aluminum. Aluminum weighs only about one third of the specific weight of steel, but nevertheless it is a really strong material. When the mass to be moved becomes lighter thanks to a change of material, considerable savings are achieved in energy consumption during operation.
Aluminum also raises the performance of the equipment to a higher level: the new robots are at the cutting edge in terms of their speed and acceleration. With regard to sustainable development, aluminum works even better than steel. The third most abundant element on the planet is in principle an inexhaustible building material, easy to recycle and thanks to its lightness, it is more cost-effective to transport.
Pioneer in energy reuse
In its new concept, Cimcorp will introduce braking feature – the first robot manufacturer in the world to do so. Just as often as motors accelerate, they also need to brake. The energy generated in braking would normally be turned into heat, but with this new technology it can be returned to the network and used again. The amount of energy fed back to the network is 30% of the amount used by the robot.
The benefits of the system in a nutshell:
• 40% lower energy consumption
• 30% higher performance
• steel replaced by aluminum
• easy to use
• minimal service requirement
• pneumatics replaced by electricity
