New Linak lifting column takes your cobot palletiser to greater heights
There is untapped automation potential for palletising goods in production and other industries. Unleashing this potential requires flexible, easy-to-use and affordable cobot solutions that can adjust to different palletising setups and generate a rapid return on investment. To meet these demands, Linak launches the Elevate lifting column, a new product that extends the reach of cobot palletisers using height adjustment where it is especially relevant. Elevate also delivers on speed, flexibility and precision to optimise the palletising process and ease the setup, programming and monitoring of the system. Heiko Kleineder, business development manager, at Linak says: “Elevate extends the reach of your cobot and enables it to palletise higher. This not only optimises the stacking process, it can also reduce freight costs as each pallet carries more goods. With Elevate, we tailored a lifting column for cobot palletisers with focus on fast lifting speed, interfaces, stability and compactness. The fact that it can be combined with a regular cobot makes it an affordable solution.”
New levels of performance
With its fast-lifting speed and optional simultaneous run, Elevate boosts your palletiser to match the cycle time of the production line. The lifting speed is consistent with up to 100 mm/ sec. independent of load. A brushless motor and an integrated controller provide high position accuracy. Proven slider technology keeps the cobot steady and able to with¬stand high bending moments while moving.
Elevate fits into multiple palletiser designs
The integrated controller allows for compact size and eliminates the need for external control boxes. This makes Elevate extremely compact and easy to integrate even reducing the complexity of the whole palletiser system. Three interface options – Elevate Easy, Elevate Pro or Elevate Modbus – offer the level of control and feedback required by a specific task. Data enables smooth troubleshooting, diagnostics, and optimisation of performance. Due to these interfaces, Elevate is compatible with a wide range of cobots. “Elevate comes with an accessory kit for fast and easy setup. The kit includes mounting plates, cables, and in indvidual cases a cobot brand-specific driver software, such as a URCap for cobots from Universal Robots. Furthermore, you can use Elevate with your preferred power supply and safety relay. This makes Elevate an adaptable component within multiple palletiser setups,” says Markus Hofmann, product manager at Linak.
A match for modern production
The Danish system integrator BILA A/S is one of the customers that got to test Elevate before launch, and product manager Brian Spetzler is impressed: “Our experience with the Elevate lifting column has only been positive. It is easy to set up, and the intuitive software plays a key role, as it enables fast configuration as well as re-configuration. This is important in production, where the setup is not permanent, and needs can change. In modern productions and warehouses, we see a trend towards automated palletising, and with increasing freight costs, palletising in height has become vital. These are some of the reasons we are excited about the Elevate column.”