New Six-Axis Z-Series Robot, Successor to U-Series

Kawasaki Robotics will begin the millennium with a new offering of eight industrial robots-the seven-robot Z-Series and he ZD130S palletizing robot. The new six-axis Z-Series is the successor to Kawasaki's U-Series. It features four floor-standing robots and three shelf-mounted models. The series has both general-purpose machines and systems designed specifically for automobile production lines and material handling.

Robots in the new series can transport loads ranging in weight from 130 kg to 200 kg. They also have sufficient torque and moment of inertia to handle spot welding guns and other heavy equipment, and feature a larger working envelope than previous similarly sized robots. To further optimize the series Kawasaki has introduced an upgraded C controller that uses a faster central processing unit and Kawasaki's Progressive Motor Control (PMC) technology, quadrupling operation and processing speed while bolstering overall performance and reliability.

Kawasaki's other new robot system is the ZD130S palletizing robot, which can be custom-configured for work cells in various industries with a wide variety of peripheral equipment, including conveyors and pallet changers. This differentiation capability should create significant demand for the systems in the handling and distribution of food products, chemicals and pharmaceuticals.

The ZD130S is equipped with a C22 controller that is based on Kawasaki's new C controller but designed specifically for palletizing operations, resulting in better application-specific functionality. Prior to shipping, C22 controllers are programmed to recognize 57 of the most typical movement patterns used by palletizing robots. As a result, the time required to "teach" the robot new operations is reduced substantially. The robot can also be taught additional operating patterns through motions that it conducts and then checks. Alternatively, instructions given in a common robot programming language can be downloaded from a personal computer.