Igus robot simplifies special machine construction
A long time ago, the "Camping Butler" looked at the "Höhle der Löwen" for an investor or € 200,000. There unsuccessfully, there is it in the meantime to buy. It concerns the first automat, which empties and cleans the toilet cassettes of the campers fully automatically. Up to now, this had to be done manually, which probably drove away the joy of camping and thus justifies a price of 5 euros per cleaning operation. A couple gets along approx. 2-3 days with an emptying.
Igus, the supplier of low-cost robots (not cobots) shows in a video what is in the "Camping Butler": An Igus xyz robot or a space gantry robot that does all the "dirty work". I think that special machine builders in particular should ask themselves which solution can be implemented more easily and more cheaply with an existing robot. On the one hand, there is no need for design work (and partial control programming) and, on top of that, much of the inner workings can be bought very cheaply. The robot shown here costs less than 7,000 € and is significantly cheaper if several units are purchased - m.w. the price drops to 3,500 €. By this favorable additional purchase the complete cleaning automat can be offered for about 20,000 €. - It does not always have to be a Cobot. But also for it there may be applications, with which a low-priced Cobot - invisibly is installed. My thesis, by the way, is that the robot manufacturers should see themselves less as competitors, because actually the market is big enough - you just have to open it up, but the special machine construction.
The following information was taken from the Igus website:
"The problem
Emptying camping cassettes is an odor-intensive and unpleasant task. In addition, cleaning and filling the cassettes with water poses a further challenge for any automation solution, as machine elements must be particularly resistant to corrosion. To make the investment in fully automatic cleaning systems in camping grounds worthwhile, the automation solution must pay for itself quickly and at the same time be safe, durable and maintenance-free.
The solution:
Inside the Camping Butler is a tub into which the cassette is inserted manually. After the cassette has been inserted, the side walls of the tub adapt to the waste tank with the help of two precision shafts with bearings, so that the cassette is fixed in the tub. Furthermore, e-chains ensure a safe energy supply. A drylin space gantry with two Z-axes is mounted on the tank itself. This complete system is supplied and mounted with motors, couplings and encoders. It consists of two drylin ZLW toothed belt axes, one ZLW cantilever axis and two ZLW Z axes. The slides of the linear guides are equipped with lubrication-free sliding elements that ensure precise guidance.
Fully automatic and simple operation After insertion of the waste tank, the lid of the cassette is unscrewed and opened with the help of a gripper mounted on one of the Z axes of the gantry. Connected to the second Z-axis, an attachment is placed on the opening of the cassette, through which water is filled. Via a gear wheel, the tub and the gantry rotate 180 degrees to empty and rinse the contents of the cassette. The gear wheel returns the tub to its original position, the flap opens and the camper can remove his cleaned cassette."
Incidentally, Igus was recently named one of Germany's most innovative companies by Wirtschaftswoche magazine.
Here is the explanatory video for the "Camping Butler":
In own matter/ advertising
The author of this blog is available for market research or even a walk through your production/manufacturing or by phone based on photos/descriptions at a fixed price(detail), to then make concrete proposals for the use of cobots and other robots incl. funding opportunities. Both SMEs and large companies are visited. Among other things in Bavaria a 50% investment promotion is conceivable. The standard book about cobots also comes from him. In addition, he is very familiar with the KfW-Corona programs (incl. exemptions).