FIXED ROTARY INDEX TABLES

Challenge

Protect exposed steel from the cleaning agents that are used to sanitize food manufacturing equipment and completely seal the rotary index table units to prevent water or other chemicals from getting inside.

Solution: RT100 Rotary Indexing Table Unit for Food Manufacturing

• Custom stainless-steel dial plate that has labyrinth sealing to cover the standard rotary table output dial
• Input shafts made of stainless steel
• Input shaft seals made of viton
• Both prevent premature breakdown from cleaning agents.

Features

• Fixed sixteen station cam indexer
• Housing with a special powder coating
• Custom stainless steel dials
• IP66 rated SEW DAS series gear motor

Functionality

Our custom rotary index table was designed to withstand the challenges posed by automated food processes, such as exposure to cleaning agents and high acidity products. These tables are completely sealed to prevent water and chemical intrusion.

Features

• Increased height allowed for direct mounting to the floor, simplifying installation and eliminating the need for additional support structures.
• Large center hole and feedthroughs enabled seamless integration of utilities, cables, and hoses, improving the overall system design.
• Precision mounting features such as tapped holes and precision dowel holes, enable easy installation of robotic risers, plates, and pick-and-place mechanisms, ensuring high accuracy in the customer’s automated processes.
• Enclosed limit switch package and rugged construction ensured reliable, maintenance-free operation even in environments with high levels of debris and wear.
• The rotary indexer is equipped with a 60-inch anodized MIC6 aluminum dial plate, custom-machined to the customer’s specifications.

Functionality

Motion Index Drives provided a highly flexible, durable, and efficient solution for their robotic and machining application. The custom design not only met the client’s requirements for direct floor mounting, precision robotic integration, and utility feedthroughs, but also ensured reliable long-term operation in challenging environments. This custom solution helped the customer streamline their production process and enhance overall system performance.

Features

• The explosion-proof drive system ensures safe operation in the hazardous spray environment, protecting both the system and personnel.
• By integrating the robot base into the indexer, the system allowed the robot to be mounted securely without additional steps for relocation or reprogramming. This simplified the setup and minimized downtime.
• The design’s multiple offset mounting locations allowed for greater flexibility, making the system adaptable to various applications and configurations.
• The use of an open-loop VFD controller for operation made the system intuitive to control, ensuring reliable performance with minimal operator intervention.

Functionality

Through customized engineering and a focus on safety, Motion Index Drives successfully met a customer’s requirements for an explosion-proof robotic spray application. By integrating the robot base directly into the RT400/4/300 Rotary Index Drive, the solution provided a secure, flexible, and easy-to-operate system that ensures both high performance and compliance with industry safety standards. The design’s simplicity and reliability ultimately enhanced the customer’s operational efficiency, making it a key solution for their production line in the explosion-proof environment.

Features

• The RT160 model was selected based on its ability to meet the size, precision, and rigidity needs of the application. Its robust construction ensures zero backlash.
• Positional accuracy of ±10 arc seconds to meet the stringent tolerances required for high-quality engine components.
• The indexing system was designed to fit within the customer’s existing tooling and dial plate layout, ensuring seamless integration into their automated cell.

Functionality

The Automotive Powertrain Group required a high-precision indexing system to streamline their engine block inspection and machining process. The engine blocks are presented to an inspection station, where various machining processes, such as honing and deburring, are performed. The customer’s specific needs included high rigidity, zero backlash, and precise positional accuracy for each process. The system’s robust design, powered by the Allen Bradley servo motor and Kinetix drive, provided continuous, high-performance operation, reducing the need for frequent maintenance and increasing the system’s overall reliability.