Mechanical Technology

Mechanical Technology — December 2015

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Automation, mechatronics and electro-mechanical systems

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ringing automation one step

closer to Industry 4.0, Motion

Cube allows for workpieces to

be transported independently

and simultaneously to different assembly

stations. This unusual concept led an

independent technical jury to award

Motion Cube a Handling Award 2015 in

the category ‘automation and robotics’.

Motion Cube consists of individual

modules, each with its own built-in drive

mechanism, in a housing shaped like a

cube. The drive mechanism transports

individual pallets from one assembly

station to the next, allowing unique

assembly tasks to be carried out. The

modules can also be combined to operate

in matrices, depending on the application

in question.

This technology enables different

products to be handled in parallel, mak-

ing simultaneous processes possible and

saving time. In contrast to a classic con-

veyor system, several travel commands

can be carried out at the same time.

Individual pallets can be overtaken and

workstations can be skipped.

In the spirit of Industry 4.0, the

prototype Motion Cube can allow in-

dividualised production from a central

machine: the assembly of mobile phones,

for example, with different features ac-

cording to customers’ wishes – memory

capacity, housing colour, engraving, etc.

A customer could configure his or her

preferred phone online, transmit the data

to the machine and have a unique mobile

phone assembled to order.

In laboratory automation, speci-

mens in a handling application can be

automatically assigned to the relevant

evaluation stations in accordance with

the required analyses. Motion Cube can

also be used as a shaker to mix liquids in

sample vials. A cover that extends over all

the modules ensures an easy-to-clean en-

closed system for applications with strict

hygiene requirements – and the pallets

Motion Cube:

a customised mass production solution

Above:

The Motion Cube

palletising system can be

deployed flexibly and is

able to react immediately

to all requirements regard-

ing sequences and target

positions.

Right:

Motion Cube consists

of individual modules, each

with its own built-in drive

mechanism, in a housing

shaped like a cube.

Motion Cube, an innovative palletising

system that allows workpieces to

be transpor ted independently and

simultaneously to different assembly

stations, has won a prestigious Handling

Award for inventor, Festo, in the automation

and robotics category at Motek 2015.

can be driven by magnetic

couplings to further simplify cleaning in

place (CIP). Transport using air bearings

is also a feasible option.

Further possible uses are: applying

adhesives to components of different

shapes; palletising workpieces; testing

and inspecting components; and filling,

sorting, storing/buffering and transport-

ing functions.

Since the system can transport and

palletise at the same time, considerable

savings can be achieved at the periphery

of an assembly facility. For example, in

palletising, the system can deliver pal-

lets to set-down positions. This means

there is no need for X and Y axes for

positioning.

Thanks to the modular and flexible

design of the palletising system, indi-

vidual production lines can be created

very quickly and adapted to changes

in production conditions. Its unusual

architecture means that the system of-

fers impressive flexibility while occupying

little space.

Conventional conveyor systems trans-

port pallets on continuous belts. This

means that the operating system and

the sequence of pallets are fixed at the

belt loading point. In order to change

the sequence, deflectors and a number

of conveyor belts have to be installed,

generating higher costs and requiring

more space.

The Motion Cube palletising system,

on the other hand, can be deployed

flexibly and is able to react immediately

to all requirements regarding sequences

and target positions. It can be expanded

easily and adapted quickly to changing

production conditions. Further position-

ing modules can be added without any

great expense, so that the palletising

system can be expanded or modified

at will. The principle of the palletising

system allows a production line to be set

up in very tight spaces.

The Motion Cube concept won over

the technical jury at the Handling

Award 2015 and inspired its experts

to select the system for first place in

the automation and robotics category.

The award was presented by professor

Bernd Kuhlenkötter, holder of the chair

of production systems at the University

of Bochum, to Michael Feyrer, Festo’s

design engineer in the company’s product

concepts evaluation department.