igus Develops First Robotic Energy Supply System Certified for Dry Clean Rooms

From 3 to 5 July, 2024 Shanghai International Automobile Manufacturing Technology and Equipment and Materials Expo (AMTS) kicked off at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre.

The world's leading industrial automation and education and training enterprise Festo ( Festo ) to "digital and electric double drive, intelligent value" as the theme, based on the new automobile production technology and equipment.

Festo, the world's leading industrial automation and education company, with the theme of "Digital and Electricity Dual Drive, Intelligent Value Creation", relying on digital, electrification, automation technology, with a one-stop innovative solution for automotive industry, appeared in the exhibition.

With partners to discuss the "digital" and "intelligent" transformation, and explore the way of sustainable development of car production.

Greater safety for battery production: the triflex R TRC energy supply system made of ESD material is certified in the first ever ISO 4-5 dry clean room.

As the demand for electric vehicles continues to grow, so does the need for high-quality lithium-ion batteries.

The optimum environment for the production of these batteries is a dry clean room where humidity and particle concentrations are kept to a minimum.

It must also be an automated factory, as humans cannot stay in a dry clean room for long periods of time.

To ensure a safe and reliable energy supply for robots in such environments, motion plastics specialist igus has developed the triflex R TRC.

It is the first robot energy supply system to be certified by the Fraunhofer IPA Institute for dry clean rooms in ISO classes 4-5.

For many years, the igus triflex R series of drag chains has given us a glimpse of a robotic energy supply system that operates reliably at high speeds and with increasingly tight rotational radii:

A three-dimensionally movable drag chain made of high-performance engineering plastics for multi-axis robots.

However, special fields of application, such as battery production, are placing increasing demands on the machine components used.

By combining the triflex R TRC with fibre rod modules, igus is now presenting the first robot power supply system certified for use in dry and clean rooms.

The system has been developed specifically for cable powering of industrial robots used in battery production. The ESD-rated certification further extends its possibilities.

Antistatic material for double safety

The system consists of two main components: a drag chain with three-dimensional movement and a fibre rod module. The drag chains are enclosed triflex R series drag chains, which are made entirely of antistatic material, including connecting elements with strain relief.

This avoids the risk of damage to ESD-sensitive components due to sudden discharges." We decided from the very beginning to utilise anti-static material for the triflex R TRC.

This is because in battery production, even more requirements are placed on antistatic materials than on the suitability of dry clean rooms.

"Matthias Meyer, head of igus' triflex drag chain and robotics business unit, explains.

"Our high-performance engineering plastics igumid ESD materials have been tested in our in-house laboratory for more than 10 million cycles and have been successfully used in numerous applications for many years.

"By using triflex drag chains made from igumid ESD material, customers benefit in two ways: firstly, they save money as the material is already in our standard product range; secondly, the safety of the system is improved.

Secondly, the safety of the system is increased because the material and the product have been tested and proven over many years.

igus also provides other ESD drag chains in its standard product series for users to choose.

Another advantage of igus high-performance engineering plastics is that solid lubricants are integrated into these engineering plastics, so they do not require any rated lubricants, which harden immediately in a dry, clean room.

Optional pre-fabricated modules for quick and easy assembly

In addition to the drag chain, another component of the triflex R TRC is the fibre rod module. The system is similar to a fishing rod.

Two integrated glass fibre rods stabilise the drag chain to the 5th axis and prevent the robot from touching the drag chain.

This enables a virtually zero-touch production process and avoids particle generation during rotational movements. These pre-fabricated modules also allow for quick and easy installation.

Because there are no touch points, the energy supply system can also be easily combined with other individually certified products in the dry clean room, thus providing greater flexibility for the customer.

Passing tests with optimum results

The TRC.40 was tested in a dry clean room at the Fraunhofer IPA Institute with a dew point of -40°C, which corresponds to a relative humidity of less than 1 per cent at room temperature (22°C).

The test results showed that the complete system consisting of drag chain and fibre rod modules was the first of its kind to be certified to ISO class 4 - the best possible result for the current state of the art.

Only at higher speeds (v = 2.0 m/s and a = 4.0 m/s?) did the system achieve ISO class 5.

In addition to the triflex R TRC, the E6.29 drag chain from igus was the first dry clean room solution to be certified to ISO class 4 at that time the previous year.

So both drag chains fulfil the highest requirements for dry clean room applications.