Robot tool changers and their usage in manufacturing
Robot tool changers, though usually quite hidden, are essential to automated machinery. Just like the steer of a car, a robot tool changer plays a significant role in manufacturing process which cannot be underestimated because of its size.
What is a robot tool changer?
Robot tool changer is synonymous to quick-change device, automatic tool changer, robotic connector or robotic coupler. Its main function is to provide flexibility for industrial robots by allowing them to switch end effectors automatically. A robot tool changer has a master plate which connects to a robot, and a tool plate mounting to end effectors like grippers, vaccum cup tooling and welders, and both ends are locked pneumatically. Besides connection, robot tool changers are also designed to pass utilities like electrical signals, pneumatic and water.
How robot tool changers are benefiting the industry?
Productivity is obviously one of the top goals in the manufacturing industry, as it directly affects production costs, profitability and the competitive edge of a company. In order to achieve high productivity, automation is introduced to the manufacturing industry. It increases efficiency of manufacturing processes and eventually the quantity of manufactured products. However, one of the obstacles to high efficiency is tool changing in complex manufacturing process, when many machine tools are involved. This is where robot tool changer comes into the picture, it helps to automate the process of tool changing, thus greatly minimizing the auxiliary nonproductive time of changing tools manually. Also, it reduces production costs by decreasing manpower requirements as seen in traditional manufacturing system.
Actual use of robot tool changers
It can be accurately said that automotive industry is the pioneer industry for robotic system, as the use of robots significantly increases production rates, reduces chance of injury of manual operators and adds flexibility to the manufacturing process, which usually contribute to higher revenue for the business.
Although most of the robotic applications for automobile production is welding, the second largest part of it is metal stamping. Sheet blanks are brought to presses and stamped to different car parts like hoods, fenders and bumpers. For each press line, it usually requires changing of grippers as many as 4-5 times so different sizes of sheet blanks can be sent to the press. Moreover, different die stamps will be used in the process to produce different shaped components, that's why a robot tool changer is a crucial part of the system, allowing change of grippers and die stamps in an automated and quick fashion. As mentioned before, the use of robot tool changers saves manpower and makes operation safer, but the greatest benefit is flexibility, as it allows switch in production lines, e.g. a stamping press can switch from producing a sport car bumper to a minibus fender within minutes. Last, tool changers offer maintenance benefits by quickly replacing worn-out tools during operation. In this case, manufacturing process is less likely to be affected by downtime and efficiency can be kept stable over time.
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How to choose a robot tool changer
As a critical component in automated manufacturing process, robot tool changers should be selected with cautions just like the case of end effectors and robots themselves. Here are some important features for consideration when choosing a robot tool changer:
1.Locking mechanism: A fail-safe locking mechanism is preferable, which works without using a spring to hold the master plate and tool plate together when air pressure is lost accidentally. This fail-safe design can prevent accidental unlocking caused by gravity, acceleration or vibration. It usually involves the use of hardened stainless steel components (locking ball) to pull the tool plate up to the master plate, while applying extremely strong locking forces to secure the locking of the two plates.
2.High repeatability: Repeatability with accurate aligning of master plate and tool plate is important for any production process, as tool changing activity is usually frequent, especially for complex manufacturing process. Tool changers that can pass the million-cycle testing at rated load are shown to be with high repeatability.
3.Flexibility: A robot tool changer with electrical, pneumatic and fluid modules incorporated and can switch from time to time offers great flexibility. This all-in-one design allows the manufacturing robots to operate in a wide range of applications.
4.Compact and lightweight design: A robot tool changer is complicated as it supports not only physical connection, but also power supply. Therefore, a compact while lightweight design is ideally the best for a supportive component like tool changers.
LTC-0005A ROBOT TOOL CHANGER
Model: LTC-0005A
payload: 5kg
payload: 13.2N·m
payload: 18N·m
Robot Side PO: 0120
ModelMaster plateLTC-0005AMTool plateLTC-0005ATLoadPayload capacity5kg（when pressure 0.49Mpa）Allowable moment770N（Static）Allowable moment13.2N·m（Static）Allowable torque18N·mSize and precisionHousing diameterφ46mmCombined profile30mmPosition repeatability±0.015mmAir Pressure for working0.4~0.7MpaLocking mechanismLocking steel ballTexture of materialMain body materialAluminum alloyLocking mechanismAlloy steelEnvironmental ScienceTemperature0-60℃Humidity95%WeightMaster side0.11kgTool side0.04kgAir connectorPneumatic port4 x M5Max pressure0.8Mpa
Diamond Member
Audited Supplier
LTC-0010F ROBOT TOOL CHANGER
Model: LTC-0010F
playload: 10kg
playload: 26.5N·m
playload: 35.7N·m
Robot Side PO: 0146
Model Master plateLTC-0010FM Tool plateLTC-0010FTload Payload capacity10kg（when pressure 0.49Mpa）Allowable moment1193N (static)Allowable moment26.5N·m (static)Allowable torque35.7N·mSize and precision Housing diameterφ60mm Combined profile42mm Position repeatability±0.02mmAir pressure for working0.4~0.7MpaLocking mechanismLocking steel ballTexture of materialMain body materialAluminum alloyLocking mechanismAlloy steelEnvironmental ScienceTemperature0-60℃Humidity95%WeightMaster side0.24kgTool side0.09kgAir connectorPneumatic port6 x M5Max pressure0.8Mpa
LTC-0070B ROBOT TOOL CHANGER
Model: LTC-0070B
payload: 70kg
payload: 328.5N·m
payload: 451N·m
Robot Side PO: 0136
Standard configuration: Master plate lock/unlock sensor, tool plate in position detection sensorModelMaster plateLTC-0070BMTool plateLTC-0070BTloadPayload capacity70kg（when pressure 0.49Mpa）Allowable moment9973N(Static)Allowable moment328.5N·m(Static)Allowable torque451N·mSize and precisionHousing diameterφ138mmCombined profile74mmPosition repeatability±0.02mmAir pressure for working0.4~0.7MpaLocking mechanismLocking steel ballTexture of materialMain body materialAluminum alloyLocking mechanismAlloy steelEnvironmental ScienceTemperature0-60℃Humidity95%WeightMaster side1.83kgTool side1.14kgAir connectorPneumatic port6 x PT1/8Max pressure0.8MpaElectrical Module7 pins signal modulePO05910592photoModelLMO-E16-MS07-AF01Spec5A*7pins+3A*1pins groundWeight0.23kg0.19kg
LTC-0020D TOOL CHANGER
Model: LTC-0020D
payload: 20kg
payload: 58.6N·m
payload: 80N·m
Robot Side PO: 0122
Standard configuration: Master plate lock/unlock sensor, tool plate in position detection sensorModelMaster plateLTC-0020DMTool plateLTC-0020DTloadPayload capacity20kgLocking force（When pressure 0.49Mpa）Allowable moment2514N(Static)Allowable moment58.6N·m(Static)Allowable torque80N·m Size and precisionHousing diameterφ85mmCombined profile57mmPosition repeatability±0.02mmAir pressure for working0.4~0.7MpaLocking mechanismLocking steel ballTexture of materialMain body materialAluminum alloyLocking mechanismAlloy steelEnvironmental ScienceTemperature0-60℃Humidity0-95%WeightMaster side0.53kgTool side0.30kgAir connectorPneumatic port12 x M5Max pressure0.8Mpa
LTC-0040A ROBOT TOOL CHANGER
Model: LTC-0040A
payload: 40kg
payload: 216N·m
payload: 228N·m
Robot Side PO: 0135
Standard configuration: Master plate lock/unlock sensor, tool plate in position detection sensorModelMaster plateLTC-0040AMTool plateLTC-0040ATloadPayload capacity40kg（when pressure 0.49Mpa）Allowable moment7497N（Static） Allowable moment216N·m（Static） Allowable torque228N·mSize and precisionHousing diameterφ115mmCombined profile73mmPosition repeatability±0.02mmAir pressure for working0.4~0.7MpaLocking mechanismLocking steel ballTexture of materialMain body materialAluminum alloyLocking mechanismAlloy steelEnvironmental ScienceTemperature0-60℃Humidity95%WeightMaster side1.28kgTool side0.8kgAir connectorPneumatic port8 x PT1/8Max pressure0.8Mpa
LTC-0010E ROBOT TOOL CHANGER
Model: LTC-0010E
payload: 10kg
payload: 26.5N·m
payload: 35.7N
Robot Side PO: 0134
Standard configuration: Master plate lock/unlock sensor, tool plate in position detection sensorModel Master plateLTC-0010EM Tool plateLTC-0010ETload Payload capacity10kg（when pressure 0.49Mpa）Allowable moment1193N (static)Allowable moment26.5N·m (static)Allowable torque35.7N·mSize and precision Housing diameterφ60mm Combined profile55mm Position repeatability±0.02mmAir pressure for working0.4~0.7MpaLocking mechanismLocking steel ballTexture of materialMain body materialAluminum alloyLocking mechanismAlloy steelEnvironmental ScienceTemperature0-60℃Humidity95%WeightMaster side0.33kgTool side0.09kgAir connectorPneumatic port4 x M5Max pressure0.8Mpa
LTC-0020E ROBOT TOOL CHANGER
Model: LTC-0020E
payload: 20kg
payload: 58.6N·m
payload: 80N·m
Robot Side PO: 0148
ModelMaster plateLTC-0020EM Tool plateLTC-0020ETloadPayload capacity20kg(When pressure 0.49Mpa)Allowable moment2514N(Static)Allowable moment58.6N·m(Static)Allowable torque80N·mSize and precisionHousing diameterφ85mmCombined profile50.5mmPosition repeatability±0.02mmAir pressure for working0.4~0.7MpaLocking mechanismLocking steel ballTexture of materialMain body materialAluminum alloyLocking mechanismAlloy steelEnvironmental ScienceTemperature0-60℃Humidity95%WeightMaster side0.53kgTool side0.30kgAir connectorPneumatic port12 x M5Max pressure0.8Mpa
LTC-0070A ROBOT TOOL CHANGER
Model: LTC-0070A
payload: 70kg
payload: 328.5N·m
payload: 451N·m
Robot Side PO: 0136
Standard configuration: Master plate lock/unlock sensor, tool plate in position detection sensorModelMaster plateLTC-0070AMTool plateLTC-0070ATloadPayload capacity70kg（when pressure 0.49Mpa）Allowable moment9973N(Static)Allowable moment328.5N·m(Static)Allowable torque451N·mSize and precisionHousing diameterφ138mmCombined profile74mmPosition repeatability±0.02mmAir pressure for working0.4~0.7MpaLocking mechanismLocking steel ballTexture of materialMain body materialAluminum alloyLocking mechanismAlloy steelEnvironmental ScienceTemperature0-60℃Humidity95%WeightMaster side1.83kgTool side1.14kgAir connectorPneumatic port8 x PT1/8Max pressure0.8Mpa
LTC-0120C Tool Changer
Model: LTC-0120C
Robot Side PO: 0137
Tool Side PO: 0237
payload: 842N·m
payload: 1200N·m
Standard configuration: Master plate lock/unlock sensor, tool plate in position detection sensor.ModelMaster plateLTC-0120CMTool plateLTC-0120CTloadPayload capacity120kg（when pressure 0.49Mpa）Allowable moment15407N（Static） Allowable moment842N·m（Static） Allowable torque1200N·mSize and precisionHousing diameterφ168mmCombined profile83mmPosition repeatability±0.02mmAir pressure for working0.4~0.7MpaLocking mechanismLocking steel ballTexture of materialMain body materialAluminum alloyLocking mechanismAlloy steelEnvironmental ScienceTemperature0-60℃Humidity95%WeightMaster side2.28kgTool side1.58kgAir connectorPneumatic port10 x PT1/8Max pressure0.8Mpa