Driving the future of robotics

Jon Lawson

As the robotics industry gathers pace and evolves, there is an increasing need for high levels of power, accuracy and precision from smaller machines. Addressing this problem Harmonic Drive offers its new CanisDrive range of compact hollow shaft servo actuators.

The CanisDrive's lightweight and condensed design offers a much smaller product without sacrificing performance. The range benefits from newly developed high capacity precision drive bearings, which allows direct mounting of the external load without the need for additional bearings or support. This keeps size to a minimum while retaining the high precision of the gear.

To ensure this consistently high performance, CanisDrive marks the first instance of CobaltLine gears being used in a servo actuator. CobaltLine gears are designed to deliver repeatable high peak torques with zero backlash and lifetime precision. The use of these gears provides elevated levels of torque density and durability, with 30%vhigher maximum torque than standard actuators.

“June 2016 will mark the UK’s first national Robotics Week as part of the nation’s push to increase innovation and the uptake of robotics,” said Graham Mackrell, managing Director of Harmonic Drive UK. “We’re also starting to see drive from the Government’s RAS 2020 initiative to boost the robotics and autonomous systems sector in the UK and the £400 million investment in innovation. This investment will see an upswing in things like collaborative robot technology as well as more advanced medical robots.

“Collaborative robots are designed to work alongside the human workforce, and to ensure they meet evolving International Standards Organisation (ISO) criteria as well as being responsive enough to react should they cross paths with a person. Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) need to ensure the drives and gears they choose can perform reliably.”

Recent Issues