SCARAs Get New Drives, Cleaner Design

Stäubli Group (staubli.com) has introduced a new line of four-axis SCARAs (selective compliance articulated robot arms), the  TS2, which features the company’s proprietary JCS drive technology, previously used only on the company’s six-axis machines, says Sebastien Schmitt, Robotics Division Manager, Stäubli North America. The reason: “The JCS drive is faster, quieter and more accurate” than the drive in the company’s TS line, according to Schmitt. “It allows for shorter cycle times and enormous performance gains.”

The robots also use hollow shaft construction, which enables all cables to be routed internally—a cleaner design for sensitive environments. “There is no external bundling of cables and no irregular contours, and the new TS2s feature a completely sealed housing. The quill can be optionally protected with a cover and affixed with special screws and concealed connections can be housed under the robot pedestal,” says Schmitt.

There are four models in the series, the TS2-40, TS2-60, TS2-80, and TS2-100. Those numerals denote the given model’s reach in centimeters. The TS2-100 is the company’s first four-axis SCARA with a reach of 1000 mm; the previous maximum reach was 800 mm. Each of the robots has a maximum payload of 18.5 pounds.

The TS2s feature a more compact design than the earlier TS models, and each machine can be ordered with an optional integrated tool change system for fast, automatic changing of end effectors. (These can also be changed manually in seconds by means of a bayonet locking mechanism.) Thanks to a modular design—models share the same pedestal design as well as other components—Schmitt says there are shorter delivery times for customers.