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Students from the Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering Department of Stellenbosch University submitted a design for a gantry robot to assist with the transportation of large sheets of glass in factories, referred to as Umshini Khulu Wami (UKW).
The students proposed that there is a strong commercial need for such a product and this was the winning entry for 2009.
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Competing Students - Richard Hamman, Theuns Greyvenstein, Thinus Ras, Jacques Visser.
Email us for more information about these winning entrants or the UKW Glass Handling Gantry Robot.
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1. The Float Glass Process
Over 90% of the world’s glass is produced by the float glass process. This process is based on the idea of floating molten glass on a bed of molten metal. The combined action of gravity and surface tension on the molten glass and metal result in a glass sheet which is flat and parallel. This continuous production process produces high quality, consistently level sheets of glass and free of imperfections. Typically, this production process produces a strip of glass that is typically between 3 m and 7 m wide.
The float glass process is capital intensive and often distributed over a wide geographic area. The main production factory cuts the wide, continuous glass strips into smaller, more manageable sheets (between 2m and 3m. The smaller sheets are then shipped to smaller factories, which process the glass locally.
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1.2. The problem
Smaller sheets, while easier to manoeuvre then a 7 m wide continuous strip, are still very cumbersome and difficult to handle. Transportation of these smaller sheets is also difficult because glass is vulnerable to damage via contamination, abrasion and cracking and the transportation of glass can be hazardous.
1.3. The proposed solution
It is proposed that a multipurpose industrial robot could be developed to assist with the typical problems of transporting glass. The robot could fill the niche between manually operated gantry cranes and articulated industrial robots. It can have more capabilities and provide for faster operation than a manually operated gantry crane, and is envisaged to be substantially less expensive than an articulated industrial robot.
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The UKW Glass Handling Robot
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2. Reviewing the Advantages of the Project
The UKW is designed in a modular format with each axis being able to operate independently, however it can be converted into a four axis machine with a substantial cost saving by removing one axis. The design is adaptable and can fulfill different roles in the factory. It can be used for the performing of repetitive tasks, operated in manual mode from a computer terminal, and operated in manual mode from a hand held terminal as a gantry crane.
The design is serviceable by any technician capable of servicing a conventional gantry crane and requires no specialised tools or training.
The device uses the Festo proportional valve in an innovative and creative way that displays the strength of that particular product and results in substantial savings in energy. Click here for more information on energy efficicncy.
The UKW takes advantage of the large load carrying capacity and compactness of the SEW electric cylinder and effective use of the regenerative braking component results in an extremely energy efficient device. The automisation of the process results in faster cycle times, and increased production. When operated manually, the device provides much faster movement times than a conventional gantry crane.
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UKW Subsystems
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3. Unique Design Features
The design team feels that the UKW possesses several unique design features that make it a viable business proposition:
* There is a real business need for the product
* An innovative use of the Festo proportional valve
* Designeded to be a modular, dual purpose, flexible device
* Flexibility of gantry-end effecter setup
* Energy Efficiency
* Cycle on command mode
* Low level of technical expertise required.