New Bearing Supports for Lightweight Robot Construction

Pacific International Bearing Inc offers Schaeffler’s comprehensive portfolio of bearing products aimed at industrial robotics. Schaeffler offers standard bearing components such as radial and angular contact ball bearings, cylindrical roller bearings, needle and spherical roller bearings. 

Schaeffler has progressed beyond bearing only offerings with special developments that are matched to suit articulated robots. These new products include crossed roller bearings with and without gear teeth and XZU series angular contact needle roller bearings and strain wave gears.

Overview of Robotic Arm Mechanisms

Today, smaller robots and collaborative robots, also known as cobots, are being increasingly used for the automation of monotonous handling and assembly tasks. 

Schaeffler has come up with a new bearing type aimed at use in articulated arms for lightweight robots and Cobots. The XZU series angular contact needle roller bearing is a new design offering 30% more tilting rigidity and 20% less friction than crossed roller bearings of the same size. It is even possible to change out a crossed roller bearing in existing Cobot joints with the Schaeffler XZU bearing of the same size. Please contact Pacific International Bearing Sales Inc for assistance in choosing the XZU bearing for your application.

To be clear this bearing is an improvement and is an alternative to crossed roller bearings used in robot and cobot arm joints. Again it is a product that can be put into existing products in the field as an upgrade and will outperform their crossed roller counterparts. Contact Pacific International Bearing Company to purchase XZU double row series angular contact needle roller bearings.

With the advent of the newly designed Schaeffler bearing supports for lightweight robot construction users now have an option to obtain better performance from lightweight robots and cobots.

The double-row XZU-series angular contact needle roller bearing has a large number of rolling elements, rigid line contact, and an internal support distance because of two separate raceways.

I cannot emphasize enough how through the use of  XZU bearings will enable the customer an option to obtain optimum values with up to 30% more tilting rigidity and 20% less friction in comparison with crossed roller bearings of the same size.  Schaeffler’s optimized cage design has lubrication pockets, which retain the lubricant in the rolling contact This feature reduces friction. 

Another benefit to robot manufacturers is that they can now design smaller, lighter, and more rigid articulated arms using the new XZU angular contact needle roller bearings. In lightweight robots, the advantages include the oscillation of the robot arm is significantly reduced and the control rigidity is improved.

Would you like to discuss a specific project with us or obtain more information about our robotic sector-specific solutions? Contact us at [email protected].

New precision strain wave gears for lightweight robot construction

In addition to the improvements made with the introduction of the XZU double row angular contact needle roller bearing, Schaffler developed its own RT series Strain Wave Gear. We believe Schaeffler made a major advancement in technology and performance by using the XZU bearing in its own RT series Strain Wave Gear product.

RT2 and RT1 series precision strain wave gears & RT1-T series sensorized precision strain wave gears

In many cases, lightweight robots require less than high accuracy and have lower load requirements and so Schaeffler developed two options in offering a standard RT2 series and a High Torque RT1 series strain wave gear. The Standard and HighTorque range is supplemented by perfectly matched bearing supports and drives. The interesting development is that from these innovations from Schaeffler, we can now offer the most compact, the most powerful, and the most economical solutions for the majority of applications in robotics.  

The RT2 Standard units are currently available in five sizes of 14, 17, 20, 25, and 32 with ratios from 50 to 160 mm and nominal torques from 18 to 372 Nm.

Standard Torque offers an extremely broad range of options and easy integration into your design. The HighTorque range (RT1) outperforms the most high-performance competing products.

The two product ranges use different types of precision strain wave gears. Integrating the XZU double row angular contact needle roller bearing results in superior performance and has created a dominant position for us in the area of robotic development..

Depending on the load capacity, available space, and dynamics, the Schaeffler robotic products offer: excellent positional accuracy, zero backlash, high nominal and peak torques, exceptionally long service life, low space requirements, and extremely low weight

Standard torque series (RT2)

The Schaeffler Standard units consist of a precision strain wave gear and an XZU output bearing with high load carrying capacity and high tilting rigidity depending on the drive configuration. The RT2 Standard units are currently available in five sizes of 14, 17, 20, 25, and 32 with ratios from 50 to 160 mm and nominal torques from 18 to 372 Nm.

Precision strain wave gears RT1-T with torque sensor

Pacific International Bearing Inc is now offering the new RT1-T series precision strain wave gears featuring a torque sensor system.

We are offering end users an option to replace their existing strain wave gear with our RT1-1 torque sensor version.

When using the RT1-1 sensor version you will have improved dynamics when the sensorised version. RT1-1 sensors are used in each cobot joint and combined with vibration compensation by robot manufacturers using control technology.

Consequently, higher velocities are achieved while maintaining positioning accuracy. This is achievable through the active compensation of vibrations. 

Advantages of your cobot 

• Compact design with integrated microelectronics and embedded AI No additional space required 
• Very simple upgrade for non-sensor-based cobots 
• Available in four sizes 14, 17, 25, and 32 Ideal for use in collaborative applications 
• No influence on the mechanical system or on torsional rigidity High-precision 
• Sensotect coating with structure in the sub-micrometer range
•  Excellent long-term stability of the sensor technology over the entire operating life 
• Unaffected by temperature 
• Direct torque measurement; minimal deviation in hysteresis and linearity
•  High sensitivity
•  Precise torque measurement for very high requirements

Would you like to discuss a strain wave gear specific project with us or obtain more information about our robotic sector-specific solutions? Contact us at [email protected]

Go here where you will find further information about our products from the industrial robotics and lightweight robotics area.

Conclusion

At Pacific International Bearing Sales Inc., we specialize in providing a comprehensive range of high-quality bearings and components tailored for robotic applications. Our expert team is ready to assist you in selecting the ideal bearings for robotic arms. Contact us today to ensure your robotic systems operate at their peak efficiency. Explore our online catalog and request a consultation at [email protected]. Buy Schaeffler bearings, strain wave gears, and other robotic related products at www.pibsales.com.