31 January 2012
A total of 31 compact RV-2SDB industrial robots, supplied by Mitsubishi Electric, were put through their paces at the recent WorldSkills international skills event held in London. Integrated into modular production systems (MPS) from Festo Didactic, the robots were deployed in the ‘Mechatronics’ and ‘Mobile Robotics’ competitions.WorldSkills is the world’s biggest international skills competition in which skilled workers, specialists and trainees pit their talents against one another in over 40 occupational disciplines. Festo Didactic is the exclusive distribution partner of Mitsubishi Electric for the training sector in the field of compact training robots. It provided the event with modular production systems (MPS), the core element of which is a 6-axis RV-2SDB articulated robot from Mitsubishi Electric. The compact portable robot was chosen as it features the power of a large system but weighs just 19 kilograms. Advanced educational documentation and training software, recognised by the educational market are also available. The WorldSkills event calls for technical expertise and for the ability to work as a team. In the Mechatronics competition, the two teams from Brazil and Japan took first place, while Korea and Sweden shared third place. Gold went to the Korean team in the Mobile Robotics competition, with Japan taking the silver medal and Indonesia the bronze. Wolfram Zielke’s enthusiasm is evident: The RV-2SDB industrial robot has an integral real-time interface with which, for example, dedicated robot controllers can be developed. Its compact design makes it agile, even in confined work cells, resulting in savings in material costs as well as space when designing new systems. The RV-2SDB can be mounted on the floor, wall or ceiling. Its gripper and positioning arm has an angle of rotation of ±240 degrees, with a maximum reach of 504mm. Carrying a load of two kilograms, or three kilograms in the wrist-down position, the compact robot attains a maximum speed of 4,400mm per second. The pick-and-place cycle time is 0.6 seconds and a position repeatability of ±0.02mm means that the RV-2SDB still boasts a high level of precision. Integrated interfaces such as Ethernet and SSCNET III enable the robot to be linked easily to other automation components.The WorldSkills competitions are held every two years. In 2013 they will return to Germany for the first time in 40 years, taking place from 2 to 7 July in Leipzig.
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