What is the secret weapon to protect the robot harness? Yes, it is the robot pipeline package. Under the "package" of the pipeline package, it helps to reduce the loss of industrial robot cables, improve the service life of cables, and reduce the restriction of wire harness on robot trajectory.


For the pipeline package, Shanghai FANUC provides users with two kinds of standard solutions - CPP and SDP. CPP is the corrugated pipe dress package and SDP is the smart dress package. Their protection principles are the same. They both realize the protection function of the pipeline package through specific outer sheath, support and special installation, However, each has its own characteristics in implementation mode and performance, so how to choose the most appropriate robot pipeline package? This paper will analyze it from three aspects: material, debugging and maintenance.


At present, the mainstream in the market is the bellows pipeline package, that is, the bellows is used as the outer sheath to protect the cable, and the friction ball is used to protect the vulnerable parts on the outside of the bellows. For applications with complex functions, a spring expansion device will be added on the bellows to ensure that the pipeline fits the robot as much as possible and is convenient for debugging, as well as the CPP pipeline package of Shanghai FANUC. The other is to wrap the pipeline with anti-wear materials (generally wear-resistant and high-temperature resistant cloth), add a C-shaped flange on the robot flange, and the pipeline finally comes into contact with the C-shaped flange through the support and spring. This scheme is adopted by some robot manufacturers, but it is technically difficult to realize because of its exquisite structure and high requirements on the harness, And maintenance personnel are required to carry out maintenance in strict accordance with the technical requirements, so it is rare compared with bellows pipeline package. The following figure shows two pipeline package products of Shanghai FANUC, which are mainly used in spot welding and handling applications.


CPP pipeline package


SDP pipeline package
texture of material
In terms of material, the biggest feature of CPP pipeline package is the use of plastic parts as outer sheath. Plastic parts have air aging characteristics and low-temperature brittleness. Therefore, plastic parts related to bellows are identified as vulnerable parts. The anti-wear cloth and spring are used as the outer sheath of SDP pipeline package, which has no air aging characteristics and low-temperature brittleness. The service life of SDP will be better under the working conditions of poor service environment or insufficient heating measures in northern China in winter. However, the anti-wear cloth of SDP has light aging, and it will be the same as the bellows due to the support of robot or pipeline package The contact between flanges causes wear, so the anti-wear cloth is also defined as vulnerable parts.
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The wear of bellows can be protected by friction ball


Damage diagram of anti-wear cloth
debugging
In terms of use and commissioning, the CPP plastic protective sleeve will not adhere to the robot due to the large volume of the pipeline box and bellows, so the interference space of the pipeline package is large and the commissioning is difficult. The installation of the 6-axis tennis racket is adjustable. The simulation engineer and commissioning engineer need to adjust the installation and trajectory of the pipeline package according to the actual trajectory requirements, so as to gradually find the most ideal state of the pipeline package, This process has high requirements for simulation and debugging. It is necessary to consider the requirements of reaching the point and the state of the pipeline package to avoid premature damage of the pipeline package. Compared with SDP, because the pipeline package is more close to the robot, the interference space is small, and the allowable rotation angle of each axis of the robot is limited and controlled by the special software of the robot. Therefore, the debugging is less difficult, the debugging speed is fast, and the interference risk is reduced. SDP has great advantages in high interference risk, compact equipment and space. When the interference area is large, CPP can also be used as an alternative.


maintain
In terms of use and maintenance, any pipeline package has certain requirements for equipment maintenance engineers. If it is installed and maintained improperly, accidents will occur frequently, such as damage to the outer sheath or fracture of the built-in cable. It is necessary to inspect the outer sheath of CPP pipes and corrugated pipes on a regular basis, but the outer sheath of CPP pipes and corrugated pipes are in good condition due to friction. Due to the special requirements of SDP internal strand, the equipment maintenance engineer needs to carefully understand the installation method of pipeline according to the operation and maintenance manual of pipeline package provided by Shanghai FANUC, and the maintenance requirements are more professional.