Modular system for individual use

Maintenance-free drylin® E room linear robot from igus® enables optimum use of the available installation space in filling system created by M2-Automation

Economically efficient automation is an issue that is also assigned very high priority by many laboratories, universities and institutes. What they are usually looking for is an individual one-off system that matches their budget. For example, maintenance-free and lubrication-free linear robots from igus® that can be tailored to the respective requirements of design engineers enable the performance of filling tasks involving biochemical liquids. The components for this can be selected from the igus® modular system and then put together.
"Our customised systems for the complex handling of fluids and liquids are in use all over the world", says Ulf Niedergesäß, design engineer working for the highly specialised company M2-Automation from Berlin. The company develops and builds its devices for the manufacture of diagnostic systems and sample preparation with a very small dispensing volume. These are intended for use in medical research and environmental analysis - for example for medical micro-dispensing systems for the accurate contact-free ejection of chemical and biological liquids and suspensions in the picolitre and nanolitre range.

Before beginning to design the new system, Ulf Niedergesäß took a close look at the many suppliersof kinematic systems. His selection criteria were that the weight must be as low as possible, that the design must be a compact one and that, nevertheless, a relatively large working area should be covered. Then there was also the issue of economic efficiency. What finally tipped the scales in favour of the room linear robot from igus® room was its price/performance ratio, on the one hand, and, on the other, its flexible adaptability to the stipulated size variables. At the same time, all additional requirements such as positioning accuracy, speed and a long service life were met.
 
Other advantages were the tribological properties of the high-performance polymers from igus®. The high chemical and hygienic cleanliness requirements placed on installations and equipment in a laboratory environment are usually very strict. "Dirt and dust have no place in the laboratory", says Niedergesäß definitively. The use of polymer bearings in all places with moving parts make the room linear robot lubrication-free and therefore maintenance-free. "The use of lubricants in the room linear robot would have been a criterion for ruling it out. The bottom line for all our systems is that they must be maintenance-free. " For this reason, the use of igus® components and systems is also conceivable in other liquid handling systems if the positioning requirements are not too high.

Robust and economically efficient room linear robot

The goal of development was to create a robust system that was easy to operate and could reproducibly dispense different volumes and viscosities at an appropriate speed with as much precision as possible. The system can be fitted out with four trays. The trays are manufactured to match the respective type of bottle. This makes it possible to fill any kind of receptacle and, if necessary, modify the system with minimum effort years later. The positioning accuracy is +/- one millimetre. At the present time, up to 1,400 bottles can be filled in one run through the system. The axis system positions the filling needles precisely in the neck of each bottle. The maximum travel speed is 300 m/s. "Previously, the entire process was carried out manually and tied up an employee", reports Ulf Niedergesäß. "It is not only the cost factor for an employee that counts but, also and above all, the quality. This is now ensured at all times, with the result that filling errors no longer occur. “
 
The lubrication-free room linear robot has a simple design. Two robust, horizontally aligned toothed belt axes of the type drylin® ZLW-0630 with a motor are used as the x axis. This is the appropriate solution for simple moving and positioning tasks in environments where space is restricted. The installation height is only 31 millimetres. Given a stroke length of 1,100 millimetres, of which the actual travel distance is 1,040 millimetres, the axis is a special design in terms of its length, which is normally a maximum of 1,000 millimetres. "Here, we received a flexible response to our wishes based on reliable calculations regarding the overall solution", confirms Ulf Niedergesäß. For the y direction, two 600 millimetre long, mechanically coupled, side-mounted parallel axes of the size ZLW-0630 are used. A drylin® GRQ toothed rack axis was chosen as the z axis for the dispensing module. The stroke is 240 millimetres, which is made use of over the entire height and, when necessary, can be scaled to meet other requirements at any time. This increases the flexibility of the entire system. "It is a robust, compact and economically efficient solution that performs its positioning tasks fully and precisely", says Ulf Niedergesäß in clarification. Another benefit is the quiet operation of the axes. "This was yet another thing that convinced us", confirmed the design engineer.
 
The accessories are also important for the filling system. The motors are stepper motors of the sizes NEMA 11, 17 and 23 with optical incremental encoders in the closed-loop control circuit. Precision inductive proximity switches were chosen as the end switches. Further igus® products such as chainflex® motor cables and plastic energy chains of the E2 series were also used in the project. "We offer a cost-effective, ready-to-connect linear robot system that is derived from the modular system and can be ordered immediately via the catalogue", explains the responsible igus® sales consultant, Benjamin Neumann. "Solutions for automation tasks where highly precise movements are not necessarily required can thus be created quickly and effectively. “

About M2-Automation:

Since 2003, M2-Automation from Berlin has specialised in customised laboratory automation solutions, non-contact dispensing of liquids and cell suspensions, hardware for the manufacture and processing of biochips and lab-on-a-chip devices, real-time image processing as well as equipment control and evaluation software. The M2 team includes biologists, chemists, software engineers and design engineers.
 
Thanks to its extensive support in matters relating to applications and technical issues, M2-Automation has acquired an excellent reputation among its customers and is a competent advisor and developer in the area of micro-dispenser technology for small and very small volumes.

Here, you can find the products used

Here you can find further interesting applications from very different areas of use: