Robotic back protection
April 1st 2007 Three powerful robots are protecting human workers from the risks of RSI (repetitive strain injuries) at a manufacturer of suspended flooring panels. The robots are RV12SLs, the largest and most powerful made by Mitsubishi Electric, and installed by Barr & Paatz. Made of steel clad chipboard the panels weigh 12kg each. Originally a conveyor transported them from production cells to the packing area, where they would be manually stacked 38 high onto fork lift pallets. In order to protect personnel from RSI and back injuries manual lifting had to be designed out of the process. The solution was found in the Mitsubishi RV12SL. These have a payload of 14kg and reach of 1.4m, so comfortably able to cope, and with six axes of motion the manipulation was easily accomplished. Mitsubishi Electric offers a full range of articulated-arm robots, from small units that can be installed directly next to or even inside machinery and systems for handing small components, to the mighty RV-S series. More articles from Mitsubishi Electric Europe: | 
