Gantry systems designed for wide range of work

Gantry systems designed for wide range of work Gantry handling systems are designed for a wide variety of handling jobs - from transfering multi-tonne parts with fine accuracy to high temperature components under foundry conditions. Ever needed to transfer a couple of tonnes of parts with pin-point accuracy? What about handle high temperature components in a continuous foundry operation?

Or maybe position components precisely in a radio-active or toxic environment?

Not everyday component handling problems perhaps.

But whatever the complexity of the application, the chances are that precision handling specialist, Gudel UK will have already tackled something similar before.

During its 50 year history, the company has built a strong reputation for problem solving, which is reflected in its continuously expanding range of multi-axis modules and individual drive components.

At the heart of the Gudel range are its single, twin and three-axis gantry handling systems.

With the ability to position components weighing up to 15 tonnes with extreme accuracy, speed and repeatability, these multi-axis units are designed as standard modules that can be easily integrated with automatic machining, welding or robot assembly equipment.

Because there is no such thing as a typical Gudel application, units are normally built to order, using modular assembly principles.

The company's ability to 'mix and match' existing parts in order to create customised installations is important, both to keep initial installation and subsequent operating costs down.

Yet Gudel's real strength is its ability to act in a consultancy or systems integrator role to ensure that the most cost-effective solution is found to each customer's requirements.

'It is about tailoring the solution to the problem, rather than the other way round,' said Gudel UK's joint managing director, Gary Ottley.

'Our range of standard modules and equipment are the foundation of our business.

They include all types of drive components, including precision linear drive pinions, racks, vee rollers, guide rails, bevel gears, carriages and accessories.

These are available in a wide range of materials and load carrying capabilities, making them particularly suitable for machine tool, automation and special purpose assembly applications.' * Common factors - two common factors apply to all Gudel equipment.

Firstly, everything is manufactured in-house to internationally recognised quality standards and secondly, every product is designed very much as a building block for use within tailored solutions.

To aid specification, the company publishes a series of five comprehensive design and selection guides.

These provide more than 750 pages of in-depth equipment data and application recommendations - including precise load carrying capabilities and installation details - and are available free on request from Gudel UK's Coventry headquarters.

Full equipment specifications can also be found on the company's Web site, along with dimensioned drawings that can be downloaded in industry-standard .DXF, STEP and PDF format directly to engineers' desktops - to both speed the design process and aid facilities planning.

'Our range is constantly evolving to meet new customer requirements,' added Ottley.

'But having said that, the fastest growing area of our business during the past two years has been in heavy-duty custom-engineered handling solutions.' A representative cross-section of recent Gudel contracts illustrates his point.

They include several repeat orders for systems to effectively and reliably transfer batches of parts to a series of process stations within an automatic component impregnation line.

'Not only did we need to develop installations to meet specific operational demands - including high positional accuracy and repeatability of components over each system's length - but ones that would withstand the corrosive action of the applications' warm, moist operating environment,' noted Ottley.

'This was achieved by manufacturing the drive rack and guideways in stainless steel.

For other operating conditions, the use of aluminium, high performance alloys, or special purpose coatings would have been more appropriate.' * Attention to detail - the company's attention to detail is underlined by the specification of special purpose seals and oils for equipment destined to be used in low ambient temperatures.

Equally, a variety of automatic lubrication options is offered to ensure high performance, low maintenance installations under the most arduous operating conditions.

The need to combat aggressive working environments is typified by the specification of four Gudel systems to transfer mould packs at an automated foundry specialising in complex automotive components.

The gantry handling units not only transport the packs from a feed conveyor to an automatic roll-over casting module, but subsequently transfer them to a thermal sand reclaim unit.

Here, temperatures in excess of 500 deg C burn off the resin used to bind the mould sand together, enabling it to drop away for re-use, while leaving the solidified casting behind.

'As well as the heat, our systems are subjected to a working environment of highly abrasive Zircon sand,' noted Ottley.

'Gudel units form an integral part of the plant's continuous process and have performed without a single failure since installation.

Indeed, when we recently checked the original machine's guideways, rollers and other mechanical components as part of an upgrade project to renew the drives and control package, everything was still found to be within original manufacturing tolerances, despite the demanding operating environment.' A further recent contract, this time for the food industry, highlights another equally demanding set of operational and environmental requirements.

The task was to devise a handling system at Allied Bakeries' West Bromwich, UK, plant that would service three storage areas and feed two automated bread baking lines with a fresh pan every 2.1/2s, 24h/day, 6.1/2 days/week.

'Not only did the solution have to meet stringent hygiene regulations, but also to perform with total reliability.

In particular, it needed to overcome the effects of airborne flour dust, which can be surprisingly abrasive to mechanical components,' Ottley explained.

'Other key considerations included an overall height constraint within the bakery building and restricted access to the conveyor lines themselves.

In order to achieve the desired stability of the grippers, which can accommodate up to 18 baking tins at a time, we decided to equip the gantry modules with double vertical beams, each having a common motor drive,' he continued.

'To meet the severe height restriction, we substituted a standard Z-axis transfer module with a custom-engineered telescopic unit.

This allowed the overall height of the space envelope to be reduced by more than 1.2m, to provide a solution that clears the roof of the building by just 20mm.' He added,'This may not seem very much, until you realise that Gudel workhandling systems will routinely position loads of up to several tonnes repeatably to within a fraction of a millimetre over linear runs of more than 100m.' Following detailed discussions with the prime contractor and the end user, it was also decided to opt for a manual, rather than a fully automated, lubrication system to deliver food grade grease to the equipment's moving parts.

* Spectrum - at the other end of the load carrying spectrum is an application involving the transfer and positioning of mould tools - each measuring 2m by 6m and weighing 15 tonnes - employed in the production of pre-formed food trays.

In operation, the custom-designed Gudel equipment provides precise location of the multi-impression moulds at a fraction of the cost of a special purpose press or machine tool.

Furthermore, such heavy duty gantry systems offer far higher load carrying capabilities and larger operational space envelopes than even the most capable industrial robots.

Likewise, they provide levels of precision and repeatability that are simply unattainable by traversing cranes, while simultaneously avoiding the health and safety issues associated with human operators.

Versatility is a further attribute of Gudel systems - which can be demonstrated by the specification of one of its Trackmotion units as a key element in the automated production of de-icing systems on GKN Westland helicopter rotor blades.

The positioning equipment at the heart of the installation has helped to transform a previously labour-intensive series of operations into a fully automated process.

The elimination of human variables has, in turn, significantly increased productivity and quality through the system's overall repeatability of better than 0.03mm at any point on the surface of the 7.5m long blades.

* Applications engineering experience - all Gudel equipment is backed by a wealth of manufacturing and automation applications engineering experience.

This is readily accessed through the company's comprehensive technical support service, which includes detailed equipment selection and application engineering advice, as well as special-purpose gripper and component manipulator design and manufacturing capabilities.

It is also mirrored by the company's in-house controls engineering expertise, which covers everything from motors, drives, PLC and CNC to motion controller technology.

'It enables us to back our products with a complete range of support services, including control system development, installation and commissioning,' said Ottley.

'In practical terms, it means there are few problems we have not come across, and solved, before.

As a result, we have established something of a reputation for taking on applications that other handling system suppliers seem to steer well clear of.' Whatever the reason, one thing is clear.

Gudel UK is a company that relishes a challenge.

So the next time you find yourself facing a particularly demanding component handling problem, at least you will know who to approach for some help.