Hybrid Indexing Table offers alternative to pneumatic models.
Press Release Summary:
Available in 3 sizes for different loads, TW Rotary Indexing Table incorporates HybridDrive, which combines small torque motor with single-step gear reduction in compact housing. Brake holds table in current position in event of power loss and secures it against unintentional twisting, while absolute encoder enables immediate startup without need for reference run after table is switched back on. Table is supplied with control package and WEISS Application Software.
Original Press Release:
WEISS Hybrid Indexing Table
New alternatives for pneumatic rotary indexing tables
Rotary indexing table specialist WEISS develops HybridDrive
The weaknesses of pneumatic tables have long been apparent. A pneumatic table generally has fixed divisions which can only be altered by reconstructing the table mechanically. Positioning takes place against a stop – causing considerable wear in the absorber for highly dynamic applications. What's more, the use of air to generate movement entails significant losses if you look at the electrical power that goes into the compressor compared with the mechanical force output in the pneumatic actuator.
With the TW rotary indexing table, WEISS presents a new generation of rotary tables which eliminate the technical drawbacks of pneumatic solutions and do not appreciably increase costs despite using an electronically controlled drive.
The idea for the product came about as a result of numerous customer requests and led to the development of the HybridDrive: a solution which was developed on the basis of the technologies available at WEISS, in particular the servomechanical rotary indexing tables of the NC series and the torque motor rotary indexing tables of the TO and ST series. The new table offers both the high-rigidity, tried and tested bearing from the NC series, and the compact construction and high control quality of the directly driven tables.
HybridDrive: direct drive plus gear reduction
The originality of the structural solution is further testimony of the WEISS engineers' creativity. The TW's unique technological feature lies in the combination of the torque motor, which is usually used as a direct drive, and the gear reduction. This enables an efficient and compact construction. The performance data takes a middle road between the torque drive without gear reduction, which offers the highest precision and dynamic performance with limited torque, and the servomechanical rotary indexing tables, which are able to produce very high torque due to the large gear reduction but have only very limited speed options as a result of their construction.
High power density and robust mechanics
The TW integrates the small torque motor with a single-step gear reduction in a compact housing. The permitted loads are many times higher than for pneumatic tables of the same size, while dynamic performance is also greatly improved. What's more, the standard model has an integrated holding brake and an absolute multiturn encoder. The brake holds the table in the current position in the event of a loss of power and secures it against unintentional twisting. The absolute encoder enables immediate startup without the need for a reference run after the table is switched back on. WEISS offers the TW series with its tried and tested control package and its own WEISS Application Software (WAS), allowing customers to integrate the product into their machines quickly and easily. The TW series is also set up for operation on third-party control systems; it offers two different options as the protocol for the absolute measuring system: Hiperface and EnDat.
The TW series is currently available in three sizes for different loads.
Areas of application for the TW hybrid series
There is a wide range of application options for the new series. On the one hand, the low costs make it possible to replace pneumatic rotary tables with an extremely dynamic, user-programmable, precise and maintenance-free solution. On the other hand, the series of user-programmable rotary indexing tables is rounded down, providing an interesting alternative for customers for whom cost-effectiveness and dynamic performance are of prime importance and precision is of moderate significance. The current applications mostly concentrate on tool and workpiece changing devices for the machine tool industry. We offer a ready-to-integrate solution which already contains storage, clamping and the electrical drive, so there is no need for you to implement your own concept. Instead, you can make use of modules such as the TW series which are proven in practise. The interfaces to the customer solution are clearly defined in terms of mechanics by the screw-on surface and the table top, and in terms of electronics by the motor and encoder plugs.
WEISS GmbH
WEISS GmbH has specialised in manufacturing and developing components for automation technology since 1967. Today the company is one of the world's leading manufacturers of rotary indexing tables. The most important business areas are electric rotary indexing tables and rotary indexing rings with cam control, servo drive or direct drive.
Alongside manufacturing high-grade mechanisms, the company's main areas of expertise lie in designing, integrating and controlling drives, based on their many years of experience. The most important user groups are the special machine and equipment construction industry, the automotive industry and its suppliers, medical technology and the food, packaging and machine tool industry.
Contact at WEISS GmbH:
Jens Knölke
Head of Sales & Marketing
Tel: +49 (0)6281 5208 0
j.knoelke@weiss-gmbh.de
Contact at "zet die agentur":
Martin Pignotti
Tel: +49 (0)6221 9707 26
martin.pignotti@zet.de
