New robots and wrist options.

At NPE in Chicago, a six-axis robot powered by the company's standard color touchscreen, fully teachable control was introduced by Ranger Automation Systems, Inc., Shrewsbury, Mass. Based on the same format used on its standard injection molding robots, the hand-held controller is said to be far easier for operators to learn than the complex keypads supplied with most industrial six-axis robots. The step-through, point-to-point teach format utilizes English commands and large onscreen buttons rather than just alphanumeric displays to aid the user in fast setup of part-removal sequences or secondary operations like trimming and vision inspection. Ranger also offers the controls package as a retrofit for other six-axis robot brands through its rebuilding arm, Centerline Automation Services Inc.

Ranger also showed off its expanded line of F-Series "flat-profile" takeout robots. Unlike its standard "forward-carriage" models, which are best suited to double-arm applications, Ranger now offers a full range Of "flat-front" robots that have no box frame in front of the main arm, thereby providing greater clearance for extracting tall parts and rotating parts through tiebars. The firm claims to offer the broadest selection of carriage-front and flat-front models and is the only U.S. maker of both styles.

Ranger also highlighted its new Dual-Servo Wrist option, which adds a fifth or sixth axis to a standard servo robot. The new module is encased in a thin-profile housing with no external cables. The dual wrist can be freely taught in coordinated motion with the robot's linear axes to remove parts and load inserts on both mold halves and re-orient end-of-arm tooling for post-mold degating or palletizing. Ranger also offers the servo wrist with a single axis. Tel: [phone] * PTDirect: 328TP