Product category:
Gears, brakes, couplings and engines
News Release from: Reliance Precision Mechatronics | Subject: Tubular Rack
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 23 November 2001
Linear tube with teeth improves robot
efficiency
Reliance had no hesitation in recommending the use of Tubular Rack to engineers at an innovative medical equipment manufacturer in Switzerland for a new robotic sampling station
When engineers at an innovative medical equipment manufacturer in Switzerland were designing their new robotic sampling station, they needed a miniature, accurate linear actuation system that would comply with rigorous worldwide medical requirements The Swiss company approached engineers at Reliance Gear Company of Huddersfield because of their expertise in this field
This article was originally published on Engineeringtalk on 1 May 2001 at 8.00am (UK)
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Reliance had no hesitation in recommending the use of Tubular Rack, one of their specialist components, in the design, knowing that it could benefit their customer in many ways.
Reliance Tubular Rack is a stainless steel linear tube with helicoidal teeth.
It is both a drive component and bearing surface in one.
By using it for the Z-axis of the machine, smaller drive components could be used on the Y-axis.
This gave room for more pipetting space on the machine and made it more efficient.
Attaching the pipetting head to the machine did not pose a problem, as Reliance could offer a variety of interfacing methods (screw threads, bores, slots etc) for their customer to choose from.
The Swiss engineers also needed to avoid possible human contact with sampling materials or re-agents when the machine was in use.
Tubular rack provided the ideal solution, because the fine pitch module on the outside of the tube which formed the z-axis meant that a relatively large inner bore was available, through which the wiring and liquid supply tube could be threaded.
Reliance's range of standard products, coupled with its rapid prototyping and test facilities, was also highly significant for their customer.
Proof of principle for the design was easy to establish using off the shelf products, which eliminated the need for expensive tooling and testing during the prototype stage.
Once proof of principle was established, Reliance worked closely with the Swiss engineers to source the most cost effective raw material from which to manufacture the tubular rack without loss of performance, giving their customer the price point they needed for production quantities.
Reliance Tubular Rack is used by many different manufacturers/designers of sampling stations around the globe and is available in a large variety of sizes or modules.
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