Hollow-armed robot avoids cable and hose snagging

12 July 2010

A robot that can be mounted in a variety of orientations without modification and with an unobtrusive smooth exterior is the latest offering from FANUC Robotics. The M-10iA/10S is a six axis, 10kg payload robot with a hollow arm that completely removes tooling cabling from the work area, and which can be mounted in floor, ceiling and angle orientation.

The robot’s hollow arm has integrated fluidics, signal and electrical cabling throughout, reducing the risk of cable snagging and breakages. By routing cables through to the wrist flange, full tool rotation is maximised without risk, speeding programming and ensuring longer cable life.

The high speed and inertia of the new robot, together with its 1,098mm reach, make multi-task applications, such as machine load, assembly and inspection, straightforward.

The wrist is sealed to IP67 making it suitable for more aggressive environments such as water jet cutting and casting applications.

The M-10iA/10S runs with FANUC Robotics’ intelligent controller – the R-30iA series an open-architecture system with integrated intelligent functions, including vision and force sensing.

Where vision is required the R-30iA controller helps reduce integration time and cost with its integrated iRVision system. No additional hardware, other than a camera, is required to integrate vision with the controller.