Stäubli manufactures robots for a broad spectrum of applications; their range includes small 4-axis Scara’s, 6-axis heavy duty robots as well as their RX/TX ranges of fast, precise 6-axis robots. The wide range ensures that the most suitable robot can be selected for any application.
Stäubli always aim to ensure that the advanced capabilities of their robots are fully exploited. To ensure this, they work closely with software and peripheral equipment suppliers on new features and applications that should be of interest to both existing and new customers.
A range of practical demonstrations were presented by Stäubli to provide examples of the development possibilities of their robots. Some of the demonstrations included:
- Vision recognition systems enabling the robot to lock onto a defined shape in 3D and follow precisely the movement of that shape at any angle. The system was demonstrated by using a robot and camera assembly as a TV camera, capable of following automatically the face of the presenter or a football in a soccer game, with much smoother movements than the cameraman.
- Precise compliance between two robots. Demonstrated by producing two hand-written signatures simultaneously on each side of a glass panel, the robots moved together in one co-ordinated sequence, one working in mirror image, to precisely recreate the signature input from the touch pad.
- High-power laser cutting with a Stäubli TX90XL robot where the laser pathway is inside the robot arm and through each joint, allowing more laser power to be used than would be possible by using an external fibre optic cable.
- A sensitive robot arm that responds to the force encountered, responding directly to touch and capable of being simply pushed back manually without damage.