As manufacturers looking for faster and more efficient means of production, robots are becoming more capable. ABB yesterday announced that it is adding the E10 and V250XT controllers to its OmniCore line. The company said they are available for robots across its portfolio and offer “best-in-class” motion control and 20% energy savings.
ABB also said the new controllers provide future-proofing through built-in digital connectivity and additional functionality to meet changing requirements. It said the E10 and V250XT extend the possibilities for enhanced robot control in a variety of industries, from electronics assembly to automotive, logistics, and general manufacturing.
“The growing demands of the industry for quicker, more diverse production and greater responsiveness to changing market conditions calls for solution that bring new levels of speed, accuracy, and flexibility,” stated Antti Matinlauri, head of product management at ABB Robotics. “As part of ABB’s OmniCore controller family, the E10 and V250XT provide manufacturers with an expanded range of possibilities, enabling them to maximize their productivity and meet changing demands with minimum downtime.”
Controllers include new functions, IoT links
Both controllers offer increased scalability through the inclusion of more than 1,000 hardware and software functions encompassing areas such as programming, offline commissioning and simulation, maintenance, vision, and safety.
The controllers also feature built-in connectivity to ABB Ability Connected Services cloud-based service suite for robots, which ABB said can improve performance through predictive maintenance and lifecycle management.
In addition, the company announced its IoT Gateway open automation software for OmniCore. IoT Gateway is intended to enable the seamless transmission of data from the factory floor. This includes from machine to machine (M2M), from robots to sensors and other machines, to the manufacturing execution system (MES) or enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, or to the cloud.
ABB claimed that its TrueMove and QuickMove motion-control technologies, which are included in both controllers, offer class-leading cycle times, high speed, position repeatability, and path accuracy. It said this enables ABB robots to operate faster than other robots in their class and up to 25% faster than their predecessors.
Featuring a slimline 19-in. (48.2 cm) rack-mount design, the E10 is suitable for confined spaces and high-density production lines, such as in small parts assembly and material handling in the electronics industry. The E10 controller is designed to power ABB’s SCARA robots and articulated robots with payloads of up to 11 kg (24.2 lb.) such as the IRB 920T and IRB 1300.
Designed to power articulated robots with a payload of up to 300 kg (661.3 lb.) such as IRB 6700, the OmniCore V250XT controller is intended for use in electric vehicle production and general industrial applications.
ABB said the OmniCore E10 and V250XT consume up to 20% less energy than its previous IRC5 controllers, thanks to power re-generation technology and brake energy recovery. This can help manufacturers improve energy efficiency and cut their energy costs, it said.
ABB simplifies controls across robots
Both controllers are used with ABB’s FlexPendant handheld controller. The 8 in. (20.3 cm) multi-touch display supports standard gestures, such as pinch, swipe, and tap, simplifying robot programming.
FlexPendant is “hot-swappable,” which means it can be unplugged or re-connected without interrupting ongoing production. This allows it to be shared between multiple robots, accelerating robot deployment, and minimizing costs, said ABB.
ABB described the E10 and V250XT as the latest members of its OmniCore family, “with 14 robots now benefitting from enhanced power and flexibility.” All OmniCore controllers are based on ABB’s industry leading RobotWare operating system.
The company added that its OmniCore controller family will be extended across its robot portfolio, and more applications will follow into 2022.
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