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Industrial Manipulator
Arm Retrofit
New Life for an Old Manipulator
Cynergy Ergonomics Case Study
REQUIREMENT:
A 1980’s vintage glass
handling manipulator had been taken off-line and out of
service due to parts availability problems. The basic raise,
lower and tilt functions were operational; however, the
components for the vacuum based end-tooling were obsolete
and unavailable.
SOLUTION:
The end-tooling and associated plumbing were removed and
replaced with a new frame utilizing modern vacuum
components. The tool was designed to utilize the existing
mounting configuration and the pneumatics were adapted to be
compatible with the existing (original) control system. The
tooling also incorporated the ability to adjust the cup
positioning/spacing – a feature not available with the
original end tooling. In summary, for the price of what the
customer was paying for replacement components, they
received a complete new end-tool fixture utilizing modern
(and lower cost) components.
The original tooling no longer
functional.
The retrofit tooling is shown in the photos below.
 
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