NEWS RELEASE
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24. July 2023Visit Yamaha at Stand 7314, Hall 7, Motek 2023, October 10-13, to see new robots and automation solutions in action Yamaha Robotics Factory Automation section will exhibit the battery end-of-line solution developed with system integrator JP Industrieanlagen alongside its advanced new 7-axis cobot at Motek 2023 in Stuttgart. Visitors can also see Yamaha’s LCMR200 flexible transport modules in action, highlighting space-saving assembly automation with easy maintenance and traceability. The EV-battery end-of-line solution will show lifting, moving and positioning 35kg battery modules for automated electrical testing and assembly. The demonstration highlights the 7.5m/s speed and 0.05mm positioning accuracy of Yamaha’s YK1200X SCARA robot, which has 50kg payload capability and 1.2m arm length. The YK1200X positions each module in the test fixture, ensuring precise alignment with electrical connections. It then retrieves the tested modules using its long reach to install passed units directly in the battery pack and move others to a separate area. “As growing EV markets drive up demand for high-capacity, high-performance batteries, this solution developed with our integration partner shows how manufacturers can raise production output, lower costs, and increase productivity,” commented Jumpei Ninomiya, Sales Manager for Yamaha’s FA business in Europe. The new cobot, with seven axes for enhanced dexterity, will demonstrate Yamaha’s advanced human sense technology with force-sensing functionality. Its superior sensitivity enhances both human safety and performance by enabling accurate movement and positioning without needing to rely on machine vision. The LCMR200 demonstration will highlight integrated track and trace, with continuous awareness of all slider positions to facilitate equipment maintenance, process control, and traceability. With the vertical circulation unit, the demonstration will show high-speed transport on two levels for space savings in addition to the agility that comes with the modules’ electronically programmable speed, acceleration, and stop positions. Jumpei Ninomiya added, “Our demonstrations show how Yamaha’s industrial robots fit perfectly into modern smart manufacturing, bringing extra speed, efficiency, and flexibility to assembly and packaging activities throughout the factory.” Yamaha Robotics is at Stand 314, Hall 7, Motek 2023, at the Trade Fair Centre Stuttgart, October 10-13. The EV battery end-of-line demonstration featuring Yamaha’s YK1200X SCARA places 35kg modules at high speed and sub-mm accuracy. About Yamaha FA SectionYamaha Factory Automation Section (FA Section), a subdivision of Yamaha Motor Robotics Business Unit in Yamaha Motor Corporation, is focused on delivering flexible, high-accuracy industrial robots for precision automation challenges. With its roots in the introduction of robot technology to Yamaha motorcycle assembly activities, the division has over 40 years’ experience solving automation challenges from factory-scale to micron-level. Yamaha’s industrial robots are now trusted by leading corporations worldwide, in activities as diverse as semiconductor fabrication and assembling electronic products, domestic appliances, automotive components, and large liquid-crystal panels. Yamaha Motor FA Section offers a unified range of solutions for robotic assembly, including single-axis robots, SCARA, cartesian, and articulated robots. Innovations such as the LCMR200 linear conveyor module; a smoother, space-saving and more versatile successor to conventional belt and roller conveyors continue to set the pace in factory automation. Core robotic technologies as well as key components and complete robot systems are all produced in-house, ensuring consistent quality and control over lead-times. Headquartered in Neuss, Germany, Yamaha FA Section serves customers in all Europe.www.yamaha-motor-robotics.eu#DiscoverYamahaRobotics -
10. July 2023Prototype 7-axis Cobot, end-of-line EV battery test, and space-saving, flexible transport capture imaginations at automation show Yamaha Robotics FA Section exhibited its new prototype cobot at Automatica 2023 and showed a solution to automate test and assembly of large electric-vehicle (EV) battery packs for greater productivity. Also, Yamaha’s LCMR200 programmable transport modules demonstrated space-saving circulation units with dedicated track and trace that protects quality control and uptime. Debuting at the show, the 7-axis cobot enhances dexterity and can move and place items inside a small working area. Also featuring Yamaha’s human sense technology with force sensing functionality, the cobot demonstrated inherently safe operation while picking, aligning, and accurately packing chocolates from a well known brand. Human sense lets the cobot perform complex processes, and detect and fix errors such as misalignment, without machine vision. The EV-battery demonstration, developed with system integrator JP Industrieanlagen, showed heavy lifting with precise positioning using Yamaha’s YK1200X SCARA robot. Visitors saw how the SCARA’s strength and kinematics lift and rapidly move the 35kg prismatic battery modules, positioning with sub-mm accuracy in a fixture for automated electrical testing and subsequently installing each module in the battery back ready for final assembly. “Our demonstration, created jointly with JP Industrieanlagen, shows how the automotive industry can produce large batteries quickly and efficiently to enable affordable, clean mobility,” said Jumpei Ninomiya, Sales Manager for Yamaha’s FA business in Europe. Two further demonstrations showed how Yamaha’s LCMR200 transport modules, with special vertical and horizontal circulation units, save factory floorspace and enhance production management. The horizontal unit can turn the slider direction 180 degrees in as little as 200mm, enabling an extremely compact production line. The vertical unit allows the production line to move on two levels, so consuming minimal floor area. The modules are powered by fast and accurate linear motors, with absolute encoding, to program and control all movement parameters including speed, acceleration, and stop positions. Yamaha’s RCX340 robot control unit manages up to 64 sliders, continuously tracking each identity and position to manage production in real-time and capture traceability data. “We were pleased to welcome a large number of visitors to our booth at Automatica this year, to describe our important new robots and explain the advantages they can bring to all sorts of manufacturing and logistics businesses,” added Jumpei Ninomiya. Yamaha will showcase the 7-axis cobot, battery end-of-line handling solution, and LCMR200 again at Motek, Stuttgart, October 10-13. Yamaha’s LCMR200 with vertical circulation and integrated track and trace, showed how to accelerate production and save space. About Yamaha FA SectionYamaha Factory Automation Section (FA Section), a subdivision of Yamaha Motor Robotics Business Unit in Yamaha Motor Corporation, is focused on delivering flexible, high-accuracy industrial robots for precision automation challenges. With its roots in the introduction of robot technology to Yamaha motorcycle assembly activities, the division has over 40 years’ experience solving automation challenges from factory-scale to micron-level. Yamaha’s industrial robots are now trusted by leading corporations worldwide, in activities as diverse as semiconductor fabrication and assembling electronic products, domestic appliances, automotive components, and large liquid-crystal panels. Yamaha Motor FA Section offers a unified range of solutions for robotic assembly, including single-axis robots, SCARA, cartesian, and articulated robots. Innovations such as the LCMR200 linear conveyor module; a smoother, space-saving and more versatile successor to conventional belt and roller conveyors continue to set the pace in factory automation. Core robotic technologies as well as key components and complete robot systems are all produced in-house, ensuring consistent quality and control over lead-times. Headquartered in Neuss, Germany, Yamaha FA Section serves customers in all Europe.www.yamaha-motor-robotics.eu#DiscoverYamahaRobotics
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30. May 2023Selective integration of industrial robots is a solution accelerator for automation specialists working in the pharmaceuticals sector, from drug manufacturing to pharmacy automation. Pharmaceutical manufacturing is intensively automated to meet practical and financial targets. Throughput must be high and errors low to ensure profitability. Another advantage is that removing human interaction helps avoid contamination to ensure high quality and consumer safety. The sequence of processes and layout of the production line can be complex and the entire production facility can occupy a large floor space. This can be challenging to design and the resulting installation can be expensive to build using conventional, customised factory automation. Robots in Drug Production A common approach is to introduce industrial robots to perform specific processes within the sequence – particularly where items need to be moved or positioned individually. In these situations, the system integrator can take advantage of the robot technology as a ready-to-use solution that is convenient and cost effective. The integrator can program the robot by teaching or by simulation using graphical software. An off-the-shelf gripper, supplied by the robot maker or a third-party specialist, may be suitable for the task at hand; typically lifting or holding. Otherwise, a custom-designed end effector may be needed. Integrating robots selectively in this way permits a compact production line that can be delivered quickly and saves bringing up an application-specific design using conventional automation technologies. They are frequently used in places where conveyorizing and palletising are required. Typical tasks include handling and sorting pills, capsules, vials, and other materials, as well as picking, placing, and aligning items like bottles, cartons, and trays. They are also used for filling and capping containers, placing tablets, capsules, and vials into blister packs, attaching labels to containers, and packing finished products in boxes ready for shipping. Other ideal tasks to be assigned to robots include selecting and assembling components to make up items such as pill boxes and syringes. Robots are also suited to processes that involve mixing and dispensing ingredients for drug formulations. In addition, where items such as containers are brought to the factory floor in bulk packs as received from the supplier, a SCARA robot can pick items such as empty bottles individually from a pile. An intelligent sorter can enhance picking by randomly re-orienting the items between picks. The item can then be correctly oriented and aligned as required and subsequently placed on a conveyor or pallet for filling, labelling, and sealing. Robots Expand Options Various types of robots can be deployed for the pick and place, sorting, packaging, and assembly processes. SCARA type machines are often chosen as they offer a combination of high speed and dexterity with long reach and large load carrying capability. Ceiling-mounted robots such as Yamaha’s YK-TW orbit-type SCARA series (figure 1) enable a smaller footprint by picking and placing items in any location within the area beneath the robot. In addition, these robots have a lower height than alternatives such as delta robots. Camera integration, controlled using dedicated robot-vision instructions through the RCXiVY2+ controller, allows high-speed alignment and inspection of items such as bottle caps and labels. Figure 1. Ceiling-mounted SCARA combines a small footprint with lower height than delta robots. SCARA robots are also available in dust-proof/drip-proof and cleanroom-ready specifications (figure 2), specially designed with IP65 protection rating and direct-driven moving parts to eliminate debris resulting from drivebelt wear. Such units are available with arm length from 180mm to 1000mm, and maximum payload from 1kg to 20kg, giving ample range for typical pharmaceutical production-line use. Figure 2. Cleanroom robots with IP65-rated vertical bellows protect the manufacturing environment. Compact, application-focused 2-axis, 3-axis and 4-axis pick-and-place robots such as Yamaha’s YP-X series provide another option for designers, bringing special attributes such as minimal width for use within tight space constraints. Automation companies can deliver extra value by integrating robot-based technologies at other places in their line particularly for Transporting items from one process to the next is usually done with custom conveyors designed and commissioned specifically for the task. Extensive surveying and planning must precede construction to minimise the risk of errors that can delay project delivery and cause cost overruns. Programmable linear transport modules like the LCMR200 (figure 3) permit an alternative approach that allows flexibility to configure almost any layout and to program speed, direction, start/stop positions, and acceleration/deceleration individually for each module. The layout and settings can be redesigned or fine-tuned with minimal impact on the project cost or timeline, while additional benefits include the ability to adapt and scale the transport as production requirements change in the future. Figure 3. Linear transport boosts the system integrator’s toolbox. With LCMR200 transfer modules for both horizontal and vertical axes, and the latest crossover module, it is possible to build flexible grid-like transport structures in two and three dimensions. Unlike conventional conveyors, the modules are programmed in the same way as other robots in the production line, using the same tools and methodology. By connecting all units to a single controller, lines can be configured up to 25.5 metres long and with up to 64 independent sliders controlled simultaneously. Direct positioning of the sliders allows processes such as component placement or assembly to be performed without removing the item from the module, saving significant engineering time and costs. Pharmacy Automation Robots are also changing perceptions of the pharmaceutical industry close to the point of care, in automated pharmacy systems that improve and accelerate dispensing of medicines for patients. Pharmacy automation takes over the laborious mixing, measuring, counting, and capping traditionally done by pharmacists. It can even fulfil prescriptions while the pharmacy is closed. Pharmacists can thus spend more time counselling patients and delivering preventive services such as health screening and vaccinations. In addition, pharmacy automation can enhance efficient use of space within pharmacies, ensure that medicines can always be stored and prepared under the right conditions, secure and track controlled drugs, and minimise medication errors. Although this is a fast-moving market, growing at close to 8% and expected to reach $8.2 billion by 2027 , high initial setup costs can be a barrier to adoption. Robots like Yamaha’s YK400XE affordable-cost, high-performance SCARA series can help overcome this and deliver a faster return on investment. Easy to program and combine with standard grippers or custom-designed end effectors, these can take care of picking, mixing, and packaging the drugs ready to be retrieved for the patient. Conclusion As a ready solution to engineering challenges that demand accurately controlled high-speed motion, industrial robots help to keep the project on time and on budget. Flexible and programmable, their cycle time can be synchronised with the line speed to achieve the desired production rate measured in units per hour. The latest affordable-cost SCARA robots and flexible transport modules give system integrators additional options to deliver value for customers, leveraging robots not only to boost productivity but to improve the accessibility, safety, and quality of services for patients - ideally leading to better outcomes. About Yamaha FA Section Yamaha Factory Automation Section (FA Section), a subdivision of Yamaha Motor Robotics Business Unit in Yamaha Motor Corporation, is focused on delivering flexible, high-accuracy industrial robots for precision automation challenges. With its roots in the introduction of robot technology to Yamaha motorcycle assembly activities, the division has over 40 years’ experience solving automation challenges from factory-scale to micron-level. Yamaha’s industrial robots are now trusted by leading corporations worldwide, in activities as diverse as semiconductor fabrication and assembling electronic products, domestic appliances, automotive components, and large liquid-crystal panels. Yamaha Motor FA Section offers a unified range of solutions for robotic assembly, including single-axis robots, SCARA, cartesian, and articulated robots. Innovations such as the LCMR200 linear conveyor module; a smoother, space-saving and more versatile successor to conventional belt and roller conveyors continue to set the pace in factory automation. Core robotic technologies as well as key components and complete robot systems are all produced in-house, ensuring consistent quality and control over lead-times. Headquartered in Neuss, Germany, Yamaha FA Section serves customers in all Europe. www.yamaha-motor-robotics.eu #DiscoverYamahaRobotics
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8. May 2023How programmable, modular workpiece transport helps manufacturers improve production performance. To meet today’s market demands, manufacturers need to deliver economies of scale with the agility to respond to changing market demands; by scaling production and introducing new product variants quickly. Flexibility is also needed to ensure factory floorspace and human resources are utilised efficiently, and always pursue increased productivity. Automation is critical to achieve economies of scale. However, conventional machinery often lacks flexibility, particularly in the way workpieces are moved between machines and loaded into each one in turn to perform the prescribed sequence of manufacturing processes. Typically, the production line may contain a combination of standard, semi-custom, and full-custom machines, linked by conveyors. Often, the conveyors must be specially designed or customised with dimensions and contours dictated by the factory floorspace. Always, the speed of any single conveyor is governed by those of others in the line, as well as the cycle time of the slowest or lengthiest processes, and buffering may be needed. As well as restricting opportunities to individualise products on the production line, this type of automation can also be difficult to adapt; for example to accelerate production, increase production volume, or allow space on the factory floor to be reassigned. Yamaha has helped manufacturers in diverse sectors such as automotive components, industrial electronics, and food packaging to overcome the known drawbacks of conventional automation. Four customers now share their experiences using Yamaha’s LCMR200 linear modules with SCARA and cartesian robots, after achieving advantages including faster cycle time, greater efficiency, and higher output. Increased Productivity Per Line An automotive components manufacturer seeking increased productivity had encountered typical barriers to improvement presented by conventional automation. The operating characteristics of mechanical stoppers and pneumatic cylinders impose lengthy carriage positioning time at each workstation. A buffer is also needed, between workstations, and the line often needed to be stopped for short periods to fix minor problems. The typical options for a manufacturer in this position include increasing the number of production lines, accelerating machine operation to reduce processing time, or increasing the transfer speed between processes. Re-engineering the production line to replace conventional conveyors with LCMR200 modules enabled the transfer time to be reduced. Moreover, the flexibility to set the transfer speed allowed buffers to be eliminated and the LCMR200 stops quickly at an accurately defined position, which significantly reduces the effective transfer time between processes. Work can be carried out directly on the LCMR200 slider, which saves process cycle time. In this example, the transfer time was reduced from two seconds to 0.7 seconds. As a result, this customer realised a 23% increase in production volume without needing to re-engineer their assembly processes. They were also able to save the cost of the jigs needed previously to transport the workpieces on their conveyors. Lower Changeover Workload In another example, the manufacturer of a diverse portfolio of small electric motors has benefited from the LCMR200 to save time normally spent changing-over the line to produce the various different models. This customer had already optimised production to minimise the changeover frequency and the quantity of work involved in each setup. Opportunities for further improvement were very limited due to the time needed to adjust stopper positions and change jigs. Moreover, each new setup brings the possibility for errors to occur. Adopting the LCMR200 modular transport reduced the setup time to almost zero by allowing stop positions to be changed by simply reprogramming, relieving any need for physical setup changes. The flexibility afforded by the new modules enabled the company to use a common jig design for all product variants, saving any need to change jigs and eliminating opportunities for inefficiency and errors. Overall, using the LCMR200 saved 16 hours of productive time normally lost every month during product changeovers. Simplified Staff Management In a third example, in the food industry, a company packaging baked sweets used the LCMR200 to overcome the challenge of ensuring the right numbers of workers on the production line at any time. At times of peak manufacturing demand, up to eight workers can be required. Managers often struggled to secure enough workers at these times. Conversely, there were excess workers when only a small quantity of sweets were to be packed. Using LCMR200 modules, including the innovative horizontal transfer unit, allowed one worker to deliver sweets directly from the baking process to two rows of SCARA robots used for packing the sweets into individual boxes ready to be sealed and consolidated for despatching to retailers. This has enabled the company to overcome its staff-management challenges. Three permanently employed workers, changing over every eight hours, now maintain 24-hour production to meet the high level of market demand for the delicious baked sweets. Easier Supervision and Maintenance Finally, another company producing automotive components had been using index tables to move workpieces in a prescribed sequence between assembly robots. Index tables have several drawbacks: assembly machinery for assembly is crowded around the perimeter, which restricts access for production supervisors. Also, changing stop positions is difficult and any equipment breakdowns can cause long delays. Using LCMR200 modules, including the vertical transport module, this company has implemented inline production that is more easily supervised while benefiting from high positional accuracy and precision. The LCMR200 eases fine adjustment of all stop positions. In addition, planning and installing the line is far easier, leveraging the LCMR200’s high positional accuracy and flexibility, while its modular nature also simplifies maintenance and troubleshooting. Conclusion Manufacturing today calls for agility, to adapt to market demands and sometimes even to individual customers’ requirements. Conventional automation can be slow to implement and difficult to adapt and scale to improve productivity and raise output if needed. A flexible solution to workpiece transport, like Yamaha's LCMR200, provides the foundation for automation that can be implemented more quickly, reconfigured more easily, and scaled more readily. Programming the modules using the same graphical software tool as other robots in the production line adds further to these advantages, easing design and configuration. About Yamaha FA Section Yamaha Factory Automation Section (FA Section), a subdivision of Yamaha Motor Robotics Business Unit in Yamaha Motor Corporation, is focused on delivering flexible, high-accuracy industrial robots for precision automation challenges. With its roots in the introduction of robot technology to Yamaha motorcycle assembly activities, the division has over 40 years’ experience solving automation challenges from factory-scale to micron-level. Yamaha’s industrial robots are now trusted by leading corporations worldwide, in activities as diverse as semiconductor fabrication and assembling electronic products, domestic appliances, automotive components, and large liquid-crystal panels. Yamaha Motor FA Section offers a unified range of solutions for robotic assembly, including single-axis robots, SCARA, cartesian, and articulated robots. Innovations such as the LCMR200 linear conveyor module; a smoother, space-saving and more versatile successor to conventional belt and roller conveyors continue to set the pace in factory automation. Core robotic technologies as well as key components and complete robot systems are all produced in-house, ensuring consistent quality and control over lead-times. Headquartered in Neuss, Germany, Yamaha FA Section serves customers in all Europe. www.yamaha-motor-robotics.eu #DiscoverYamahaRobotics
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24. April 2023Advanced products and new demonstrations including automotive battery assembly will be revealed Yamaha Robotics Factory Automation section will demonstrate new robots and applications at Automatica 2023 in Munich, June 27-30, highlighting superior flexibility, productivity, and quality in automotive battery production and diverse industrial processes. A special focus on SCARA robots will feature the YK1200X, which is designed for high accuracy, with arm length up to 1200mm and payload up to 50kg. Visitors can see the YK1200X in action, handling prismatic cells for electric vehicles in an application co-developed with system integrator JP Industrieanlagen. “Our demonstration shows how battery makers can increase output, production quality, and cost-effectiveness,” commented Jumpei Ninomiya, Sales Manager for Yamaha’s FA business in Europe. “This timely solution meets critical market demands as the deadlines for game-changing legislation on car production are drawing nearer.” Yamaha YK1200X Two demonstrations featuring LCMR200 linear modules will show how production lines can move items simultaneously in x, y, and z directions, forwards, backwards, with electronically programmable speed, acceleration, and stop positions. Owners can utilise this uniquely flexible transport to overcome floorspace limitations, increase factory agility, and rapidly scale and adapt production. In addition to all this, Yamaha will take the wraps off its latest cobot in a presentation that’s sure to be popular with visitors, delivering a chocolate hit from a well-known brand. Visitors can also see latest RCX-Studio graphical software for programming single- and multi-robot systems. Looking forward to the event, Jumpei Ninomiya added, “We are bringing new and engaging demonstrations to Automatica this year. They show how we can boost speed, efficiency, and flexibility in numerous industries including automotive, food preparation, pharmaceuticals, electronic assembly, general manufacturing, packaging, and logistics.” Yamaha Robotics is at Hall B5, booth 314, Automatica 2023, Messe München, June 27-30. About Yamaha FA Section Yamaha Factory Automation Section (FA Section), a subdivision of Yamaha Motor Robotics Business Unit in Yamaha Motor Corporation, is focused on delivering flexible, high-accuracy industrial robots for precision automation challenges. With its roots in the introduction of robot technology to Yamaha motorcycle assembly activities, the division has over 40 years’ experience solving automation challenges from factory-scale to micron-level. Yamaha’s industrial robots are now trusted by leading corporations worldwide, in activities as diverse as semiconductor fabrication and assembling electronic products, domestic appliances, automotive components, and large liquid-crystal panels. Yamaha Motor FA Section offers a unified range of solutions for robotic assembly, including single-axis robots, SCARA, cartesian, and articulated robots. Innovations such as the LCMR200 linear conveyor module; a smoother, space-saving and more versatile successor to conventional belt and roller conveyors continue to set the pace in factory automation. Core robotic technologies as well as key components and complete robot systems are all produced in-house, ensuring consistent quality and control over lead-times. Headquartered in Neuss, Germany, Yamaha FA Section serves customers in all Europe. www.yamaha-motor-robotics.eu #DiscoverYamahaRobotics
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13. March 2023European agents discuss actions and opportunities for 2023 Yamaha Robotics Factory Automation section has met with its European sales agents at the branch headquarters in Neuss, Germany, February 14-15, to review performance and energise the network for 2023. Opening the meeting, Shinji Kuroda and Yuko Kato from Yamaha Motor Company Robotics Operations in Japan described the global market position and general scale of the opportunities. Businesses in sectors as diverse as manufacturing, logistics, textiles, and food production are automating with industrial robots to increase productivity. Yamaha and its agents work with system integrators and end users to create solutions that are more affordable, flexible, and scalable than conventional factory automation. Jumpei Ninomiya, Sales Manager for Yamaha’s FA business in Europe, delivered his analysis of the local market, and presented Yamaha’s strategy for the region. “We have strengthened our team this year, bringing on-board extra skills and increasing our capacity to drive new programs and collaborate extensively with system integrators,” he explained. Bringing the group together, Jumpei Ninomiya and German branch manager Yasushi Miyake presented the annual awards that celebrate the most outstanding performances. Roberto Facchinetti, sales agent for Italy, received the Special Contribution Award on behalf of his company, A.T.T.I srl. Ms Chiyo Kubota for Seika Sangyo GmbH, agent for Germany, received the 2022 Sales Achievement Award. Aitor Fernandez of Robotplus received the Top Service Award for the company’s success in building customer satisfaction in the Spanish market. Acknowledging the contribution of the entire network towards the strong performances in 2022, branch manager Yasushi Miyake said, “The market for industrial robots continues to grow healthily and the range of opportunities is expanding. We have chosen to work with agents that are well regarded in their territories and we are sure their commitment will continue to deliver excellent results in the future.” The Yamaha Robotics Factory Automation sales network covers all European territories. Yamaha’s Jumpei Ninomiya (left) and Yasushi Miyake (right) presented the annual awards to (l to r) Roberto Facchinetti, A.T.T.I srl, Ms Chiyo Kubota, Seika Sangyo GmbH, and Aitor Fernandez, Robotplus. About Yamaha FA Section Yamaha Factory Automation Section (FA Section), a subdivision of Yamaha Motor Robotics Business Unit in Yamaha Motor Corporation, is focused on delivering flexible, high-accuracy industrial robots for precision automation challenges. With its roots in the introduction of robot technology to Yamaha motorcycle assembly activities, the division has over 40 years’ experience solving automation challenges from factory-scale to micron-level. Yamaha’s industrial robots are now trusted by leading corporations worldwide, in activities as diverse as semiconductor fabrication and assembling electronic products, domestic appliances, automotive components, and large liquid-crystal panels. Yamaha Motor FA Section offers a unified range of solutions for robotic assembly, including single-axis robots, SCARA, cartesian, and articulated robots. Innovations such as the LCMR200 linear conveyor module; a smoother, space-saving and more versatile successor to conventional belt and roller conveyors continue to set the pace in factory automation. Core robotic technologies as well as key components and complete robot systems are all produced in-house, ensuring consistent quality and control over lead-times. Headquartered in Neuss, Germany, Yamaha FA Section serves customers in all Europe. www.yamaha-motor-robotics.eu #DiscoverYamahaRobotics
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6. March 2023Introducing affordable-cost robots to augment human skills can increase the speed and quality of production Automation continues to transform numerous industries, raising productivity by improving both the production rate and quality. Ultimately, more good units are produced. However, many businesses value human skills such as dexterity and visual acuity for tasks such as inspection, particularly when items are difficult to handle – such as moulded plastic parts, or textiles – and defects can be seen or felt easily. This can present companies with a dilemma. Full automation may be technically feasible, although excessively expensive. If production volumes or the unit price of the produced items is low, the projected return on investment in automation may be unacceptable. Small SCARA robots that are sized to handle light picking and packing tasks are available at affordable prices. They can be deployed cost-effectively alongside human inspectors to help raise productivity and quality. A little imagination may be required to adapt the sequence for best results. Increase Output and Quality Yamaha recently helped a customer producing injection-moulded components for industrial applications to overcome a quality-control issue that had held back productivity. The solution introduced a SCARA robot from Yamaha’s YK-XE series, with the RCXiVY2+ vision system and YRG series electric gripper, to support operators inspecting the mouldings. Assisted by the robot, inspectors were empowered to detect moulding defects and accurately trace the cause so that it could be fixed quickly. In addition to improving quality, bringing the robot into the process also helped increase the production rate. The quality-control problem stemmed from the fact that a single human operator had been responsible for inspecting and packing items produced by a moulding machine that has multiple cavities. A take-out robot removes all items from the machine, at the end of each moulding cycle, and places them on a conveyor. The conveyor drops all the mouldings into a box, from which the operator picks one at a time and then inspects and palletises each one (figure 1). Figure 1. Inspectors assess and palletise moulded parts but cannot trace the causes of defects. In this situation, it’s impossible for the operator to connect any recurring defects back to the originating cavity in the moulding machine. This created the potential for large numbers of faulty units to be produced before the cause can be identified, which wastes resources and also increases opportunities for defective units to escape from the factory. Improving quality control would require identifying the individual moulding cavity from which any defective part had originated. This is beyond the capabilities of a lone operator, under pressure to pick and pack the items at a speed compatible with the production rate. Another approach could be to inspect each moulding as ejected from its cavity, before being placed on the conveyor alongside the other items. This would likely require multiple inspectors, adding to the overall manufacturing costs. Yamaha’s YK-XE SCARA offered a solution by enabling items to be palletised at high speed, picking directly from the conveyor. This allowed them to remain in the same order they emerged from their cavities. As a result, any item inspected and found to be faulty can be directly linked to the originating cavity thereby allowing the cause to be fixed quickly. The integrated RCXiVY2+ vision system can simultaneously track the position and orientation of up to 100 items travelling on the conveyor, to help the robot pick and palletise each moulding quickly and accurately (figure 2). Figure 2. The speed of the SCARA enabled parts to be palletised in cavity order, ready for inspection. The YK-XE SCARA series comprises robots rated for payloads up to 10kg and offers a choice of arm lengths from 400mm to 710mm. While these robots are conceived to help factories introduce robot technology at affordable cost, they provide valuable features including generous wiring and pneumatic tubing for controlling end effectors. These can be routed through-shaft and through-cap, which enhances convenience and protects against breakage and disconnection. Arm acceleration and deceleration are automatically optimised according to the payload weight, to ensure maximum speed and prevent vibration thereby permitting superior accuracy. Other series in the Yamaha SCARA family include the omnidirectional YK-TW, which allows large pallet sizes. Vision System Example Another case involved a company producing large numbers of an electronic gauge used in automotive instrumentation. The gauge comprises a populated circuit board, pointer mechanism, a screen-printed dial face, and electrical connectors (figure 3). The team wanted to increase production by using SCARA robots to quickly pick and palletise the assembled units coming off the production line. The pallets are then transported to the next stage of manufacture. Figure 3. Large, irregular-shaped items such as automotive gauges can be challenging to pick up and palletise. The team knew that a vision system would be needed to ensure the components were correctly aligned in order to be palletized satisfactorily. From previous experience, they understood that integrating a machine-vision system as part of an automated handling solution was expensive and time consuming. Also, their previous foray into the technology had required specialist knowledge. On the current occasion, their machine-vision specialist happened to be seconded to another division at the time. Ending the secondment to handle this project was not an option. The RCXiVY2+ robot vision system helped overcome the challenge. Management of the camera and vision processing is integrated within the RCX340 controller, which also hosts the robot application. The camera can be attached to the robot (figure 4) or mounted on a separate fixture. Yamaha’s system has dedicated vision instructions simplify programming. The team had the system up and running extremely quickly. In fact, the integration took about one fifth of the time typically needed when using conventional machine-vision technology. The setup can be completed in as little as eight minutes after power-on and auto calibration is provided. In addition, a dedicated bus line allows high data speeds thereby avoiding the latency that can impair the performance of conventional systems. Figure 4. YK-XE400 SCARA robot with RCXiVY2+ camera mounted. Robot vision can enhance many industrial processes In addition to tracking items to be picked from a conveyor and helping to orientate parts for palletising, and affixing labels to components. In this case, the robot can position the labels consistently in the same place and orientation on each item even if the incoming workpieces are irregularly spaced or oriented. Vision can also assist processes such as applying dispensable materials like adhesive, liquid gasket, or sealant, by detecting if the workpiece is skewed and enabling the application path to be corrected. Generally, vision can enhance assembly tasks such as screwdriving, by quickly detecting hole positions to assist fastening, and can help ensure correct alignment of parts before insertion or joining. Conclusion The affordable cost of small SCARA robots for light production and packaging tasks allows more flexible approaches to introducing automation in industrial activities. While speed, accuracy, and reliability are well known robot strengths, with thoughtful application they can also provide information that can help improve process control and keep production flowing: another way to boost productivity. Also, by making flexible automation more affordable than ever, small SCARA robots can be used cost-effectively in low-volume, low-cost scenarios. Machine vision is a critical capability in many handling and packaging applications. Bringing control of vision inside the robot domain, with dedicated vision instructions, can accelerate and simplify integration and enhance system performance. Companies of all sizes can now infuse robots into their activities, using them to work alongside and assist human operators as well as accelerate repetitive or mundane tasks. About Yamaha FA Section Yamaha Factory Automation Section (FA Section), a subdivision of Yamaha Motor Robotics Business Unit in Yamaha Motor Corporation, is focused on delivering flexible, high-accuracy industrial robots for precision automation challenges. With its roots in the introduction of robot technology to Yamaha motorcycle assembly activities, the division has over 40 years’ experience solving automation challenges from factory-scale to micron-level. Yamaha’s industrial robots are now trusted by leading corporations worldwide, in activities as diverse as semiconductor fabrication and assembling electronic products, domestic appliances, automotive components, and large liquid-crystal panels. Yamaha Motor FA Section offers a unified range of solutions for robotic assembly, including single-axis robots, SCARA, cartesian, and articulated robots. Innovations such as the LCMR200 linear conveyor module; a smoother, space-saving and more versatile successor to conventional belt and roller conveyors continue to set the pace in factory automation. Core robotic technologies as well as key components and complete robot systems are all produced in-house, ensuring consistent quality and control over lead-times. Headquartered in Neuss, Germany, Yamaha FA Section serves customers in all Europe. www.yamaha-motor-robotics.eu #DiscoverYamahaRobotics
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13. February 2023Strengthening sales and service systems in Southeast Asia and India to further expand the robotics business Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. announced that it has established a new company in Singapore aimed at expanding its business in Southeast Asia and India, where demand for robots is growing. By conducting manufacturer-driven cross-selling in the surface mounter and industrial robot fields, Yamaha Motor intends to secure new clients in Southeast Asia and India, as well as provide high-quality after-sales services in line with international standards. The Company will also strengthen its distributor support system while working to expand its distributor network. The new company will be named Yamaha Robotics Solutions Asia Pte. Ltd. and registration was completed on January 13, 2023. Going forward, the Company will prepare the new company’s office, equipment, and more toward a scheduled start of operations in July this year. Yamaha Motor aims to acquire major global accounts as well as clients that are shifting their production bases to Southeast Asia and India by establishing this company in Singapore, where clients, distributors, and the reach of our competitors’ headquarters intersect. The robotics business is designated as a Strategic Business Field in the Company’s Medium-Term Management Plan. Based on the business’ Yamaha One-Stop Smart Solution concept, the Company will build frameworks enabling the prompt provision of sophisticated, all-inclusive solutions as it aims for further business expansion. About Yamaha Robotics FA Section Yamaha Factory Automation Section (FA Section), a subdivision of Yamaha Motor Robotics Business Unit in Yamaha Motor Corporation, is focused on delivering flexible, high-accuracy industrial robots for precision automation challenges. With its roots in the introduction of robot technology to Yamaha motorcycle assembly activities, the division has over 40 years’ experience solving automation challenges from factory-scale to micron-level. Yamaha’s industrial robots are now trusted by leading corporations worldwide, in activities as diverse as semiconductor fabrication and assembling electronic products, domestic appliances, automotive components, and large liquid-crystal panels. Yamaha Motor Robotics FA Section offers a unified range of solutions for robotic assembly, including single-axis robots, SCARA, cartesian, and articulated robots. Innovations such as the LCMR200 linear conveyor module; a smoother, space-saving and more versatile successor to conventional belt and roller conveyors continue to set the pace in factory automation. Core robotic technologies as well as key components and complete robot systems are all produced in-house, ensuring consistent quality and control over lead-times. Headquartered in Neuss, Germany, Yamaha FA Section serves customers in all Europe. www.yamaha-motor-robotics.eu https://fa.yamaha-motor-robotics.de/ #DiscoverYamahaRobotics
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24. November 2022Notice of new version release accompanying with the 3D simulator supporting single-axis and cartesian robots. Regarding RCX-Studio 2020 ...
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14. November 2022Automating any processes in a production sequence can simplify operational challenges as well as increasing efficiency and quality. Yamaha Motor Robotics ...
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17. October 2022Yamaha Motor Robotics FA Section will show visitors to Motek 2022 its family of compact, affordable industrial robots boost the productivity of common component-handling and product-assembly processes.
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19. September 2022Yamaha Motor Robotics FA Section will show visitors to Motek 2022 its family of compact, affordable industrial robots boost the productivity of common component-handling and product-assembly processes.
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18. July 2022Yamaha Motor Robotics FA Section will show visitors to Motek 2022 its family of compact, affordable industrial robots boost the productivity of common component-handling and product-assembly processes.
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4. July 2022Yamaha Motor Robotics FA Section has shown how affordable robots can transform processes in diverse industries, presenting live demonstrations to visitors at Automatica 2022, which took place June 21-24 in Munich, Germany.
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14. April 2022Batteries are to have a central role in the future of sustainable energy and mobility. Affordable, high-quality lithium battery packs are needed in diverse kWh ratings to power vehicles ranging from eBikes, drones, and small city cars, to large electric vehicles (EVs), trucks and buses.
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4. April 2022Yamaha Motor Robotics FA Section will demonstrate industrial robots working together autonomously to raise productivity and reduce waste
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17. March 2022Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. announced its decision today to donate 700,000 U.S. dollars toward humanitarian aid for Ukraine and its surrounding regions. This donation will be made through Japan Platform, a non-profit organization, and the funds will be used explicitly for delivering humanitarian aid to those in need. Yamaha Motor expresses its deepest sympathies to all the victims affected by this crisis and hopes for a return to peace as quickly as possible. ABOUT YAMAHA Robotics FA Section Yamaha Factory Automation Section (FA Section), a subdivision of Yamaha Motor Robotics Business Unit in Yamaha Motor Corporation, is focused on delivering flexible, high-accuracy industrial robots for precision automation challenges. With its roots in the introduction of robot technology to Yamaha motorcycle assembly activities, the division has over 40 years’ experience solving automation challenges from factory-scale to micron-level. Yamaha’s industrial robots are now trusted by leading corporations worldwide, in activities as diverse as semiconductor fabrication and assembling electronic products, domestic appliances, automotive components, and large liquid-crystal panels. Yamaha Motor FA Section offers a unified range of solutions for robotic assembly, including single-axis robots, SCARA, cartesian, and articulated robots. Innovations such as the LCMR200 linear conveyor module; a smoother, space-saving and more versatile successor to conventional belt and roller conveyors continue to set the pace in factory automation. Core robotic technologies as well as key components and complete robot systems are all produced in-house, ensuring consistent quality and control over lead-times. Headquartered in Neuss, Germany, Yamaha FA Section serves customers in all Europe. https://fa.yamaha-motor-robotics.de/ #DiscoverYamahaRobotics
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28. February 2022An industrial robot can be as simple as a single-axis robot for basic transport and position, or can be scaled up to multiple axes working in concert. The latest single-axis models bring together advanced design features and software tools to enhance accuracy, speed, and ease of use Industrial robots are known to boost productivity. Moreover, and since the pandemic, it is clear they can safeguard workers’ health by reducing staffing on the factory floor and reducing human contact with components and assemblies. Among the various types of robots that are available, single-axis robots are easy to understand and use. They are already automating a wide variety of tasks in factories and logistics hubs; sometimes operating in isolation, often configured in groups co-ordinated by a central controller. Always, they bring greater throughput, repeatability, and consistency to operations. System integrators can develop systems based on single-axis robots in one, two, or three axes to tackle handling and assembly challenges. These can include transferring bulk items into individual trays or pallets, sequences such as feeding and cutting, and positioning jigs and tools. On the other hand, two or more linear units can work together to perform tasks that demand high accuracy like laser cutting, painting, or dispensing. A custom cartesian robot can be built by combining single-axis robots specially selected for each axis (figure 1). Yamaha also has a range of standard cartesian robots, available off the shelf. Figure 1. Single-axis robots can be configured as a custom cartesian robot. A linear unit can also act in concert with a cartesian robot, connected to the same controller, in situations that require more axes. A controller such as the Yamaha RCX340 is usually chosen to manage the cartesian robot. It has the capacity to control one or more additional single-axis robots working as part of the same unified, coordinated system. This lets integrators configure robots to handle complex sequences, with the flexibility to expand the system if needed. Visit https://global.yamaha-motor.com/business/robot/lineup/application/ to see single-axis and cartesian robots in action, performing a variety of common industrial tasks. What to Look For Rigidity is one of the most important properties of a single-axis robot, needed to ensure precise and repeatable positioning and allow the slider to move freely with minimal friction. The design of associated mountings and supports can also be simplified, saving both space and cost. On the other hand, compact dimensions are also desired to minimise the factory area occupied by the robot. Using advanced design techniques, it is possible to achieve a reduction in size at the same time as increasing rigidity in every axis. The latest high-rigidity single-axis robots in Yamaha’s Robonity series feature one-piece construction and a built-in linear guide. These enhancements have increased the rigidity by up to 300% while at the same time reducing the rail width. The ABAR05 (figure 2) is just 54mm wide, a saving of 17% compared to typical alternative models. No external guide is required, which simplifies design, and the increased rigidity preserves the robot’s straight-line performance when subjected to a radial load. The play in the direction of rotation is inhibited and tools attached to the tip of the rod achieve ±0° of non-rotating accuracy. The robots are available with stroke length up to 1100mm Figure 2. ABAR05 high-rigidity single-axis robot. The latest design enhancements have also allowed the overall height to be reduced. A major advantage of these new, slimmer robots is that the centre of gravity is lowered, which enhances performance when used as the x-axis of a custom-built cartesian robot. The ABAS12 is 76mm high and 120mm wide. In addition, the latest design maximises the movement stroke in relation to the total length. Together, the reduced length, width, and height, with increased rigidity, and comparable range of movement compared to alternative models, all contribute to enabling a significant downsizing of facility equipment. There are further space savings to be gained in the design of the control panel. The EP-01 controller for Robonity robots is 37% narrower than alternative modules, at 40mm wide. Selecting the Right Model When selecting a single-axis robot, the type of motor should also be considered. Yamaha’s Robonity series contains robots with a ground ball screw designed for use with a servo motor. The range contains complete units capable of speeds up to 2400mm/s. There are also motorless actuators that are compatible with industry-standard motors up to 400 Watts. Attachment kits are available that allow changing the motor orientation to suit the requirements of the application. Alternatively, stepper motor robots such as the Transervo series can provide a cost-effective solution with the functionality of a servo motor for applications that require lower payload and ultimate speed is not a concern. The latest models can handle almost four times the payload of their predecessors, and the excursion speed of 1200mm/s is 20% faster. On the other hand, a linear-motor single-axis robot could be the most cost-effective solution for an application that demands transporting lightweight workpieces over long distances at high speeds. Robots are available with maximum stroke greater than four metres and maximum speed of 2500mm/s, with ±5µm repeated position accuracy. The overall cycle time saving can be significant, while linear motors are also quiet and suffer minimal wear. Typical payload capacity is a few kilograms. Phaser MF linear-motor robots fitted with flux magnets can transport objects up to 160kg at high speeds. Simulation and Setup When evaluating single-axis robots for an application involving one or more units, the supporting tools to enable setup and troubleshooting should also be considered. Yamaha’s web-based simulator helps select the optimum specification. Users can quickly calculate important criteria like the projected cycle time and ball screw lifetime after describing a few basic parameters (figure 3). Figure 3. A simple simulation can predict the robot’s operating lifetime. When setting up the system, the EP-01 robot controller works with the EP Manager PC application to assist with analysis and fine-tuning. Users can enter extensive details of the usage conditions, including transport mass, point data, and operation type. This makes it possible to assess the performance in a virtual environment without running real hardware. simulation provides comprehensive results including the total operating time, time for individual operations, maximum speed, and acceleration. When setting up and running the robot system on the factory floor, EP Manager gives important information like real-time tracing of actual speed, motor load status, and the time to reach specific positions. Continuous monitoring is possible to verify the setup and enable long-term analysis and troubleshooting assistance. The tool also provides real-time tracing and allows checking of the alarm history, which supports maintainability. The alarm history check helps analyse errors by giving insight into parameters including position, speed, operating conditions, current value, voltage, and I/O status. Analysing these various states can help identify the root cause of the alarm. In addition, real-time tracing allows users to analyse status up to the point an error occurred, to help identify causes such as overloading of the motor. The EP-01 controller generates a feedback pulse output on a dedicated channel separate from the standard network connection. This helps with analysis and monitoring by providing continuous up-to-date position information that is independent of any communication delays on the network. By providing real-time output of the robot’s current position, the feedback pulse also enables speed ripple compensation. Special Options Special design features of the Robonity single-axis series include access to fixing points that allow each unit to be installed quickly and easily from either top or bottom without removing any exterior parts. For applications that demand the shortest possible cycle time, Robonity AGXS models can accelerate/decelerate at up to 2g compared to conventional units that have a typical maximum of 0.5g. The AGXS (figure 4) is an advanced series that features ground ball screws for high accuracy and durability. Figure 4. Robonity AGXS10 high-precision single-axis robot. AGXS robots come ready for use in clean areas such as food preparation and production of cosmetics or pharmaceuticals. They feature stainless dust-proof covers and their low-friction rollers minimise grinding that generates dust and particles. A suction port is provided to safely remove any foreign matter from the mechanisms. Conclusion Single-axis robots provide an effective foundation to integrate robots in automated processes. Advantages include easy selection, design, and use. Key selection criteria include high rigidity, compact dimensions, and servo, stepper, or linear motor drive for optimum acceleration and speed. Effective tools for simulation and analysis can provide an important differentiating factor that significantly ease setup and long-term maintenance. ABOUT YAMAHA Robotics FA Section Yamaha Factory Automation Section (FA Section), a subdivision of Yamaha Motor Robotics Business Unit in Yamaha Motor Corporation, is focused on delivering flexible, high-accuracy industrial robots for precision automation challenges. With its roots in the introduction of robot technology to Yamaha motorcycle assembly activities, the division has over 40 years’ experience solving automation challenges from factory-scale to micron-level. Yamaha’s industrial robots are now trusted by leading corporations worldwide, in activities as diverse as semiconductor fabrication and assembling electronic products, domestic appliances, automotive components, and large liquid-crystal panels. Yamaha Motor FA Section offers a unified range of solutions for robotic assembly, including single-axis robots, SCARA, cartesian, and articulated robots. Innovations such as the LCMR200 linear conveyor module; a smoother, space-saving and more versatile successor to conventional belt and roller conveyors continue to set the pace in factory automation. Core robotic technologies as well as key components and complete robot systems are all produced in-house, ensuring consistent quality and control over lead-times. Headquartered in Neuss, Germany, Yamaha FA Section serves customers in all Europe. https://fa.yamaha-motor-robotics.de/ #DiscoverYamahaRobotics
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23. February 2022Toward expanding business scale and strengthening profitability using strategic investment in growing businesses Yamaha Motor Europe Robotics announced today that the company will expand and renovate the office buildings that were built in the Toyooka-cho area in Kita-ku,Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture at the end of 2016. The initiative is set to expand the production capacity of the Hamamatsu Robotics Office, which develops, manufactures, and sells surface mounters and industrial robots. Construction is scheduled to begin in January 2023, with all work to be completed by June 2024. Hamamatsu Robotics Office impression (after initiative) As a result of this expansion and renovation, the total floor area of the office buildings will be approximately 1.6 times the current level to approximately 82,000m2, the production area will be expanded by 1.8 times, and the production capacity of surface mounters will be doubled. By expanding the development area, and improving the environment for evaluation and laboratories, the initiative is also intended to promote steadier product development. In addition, the company envisions the realization of next-generation offices through the installation of smart showrooms and carbon neutrality support. The project is expected to strengthen manufacturing, sales, technology, and service systems in the new environment.The strengthening of the base through this expansion and renovation is part of the company's strategic investment in growing businesses under its new medium-term management plan (2022-2024). Yamaha Motor will further enhance its customer-oriented systems for technology, sales, and services, which is the strength of its robotics business, and work towards reinforcing profitability by expanding the scale and business area in a growing market. Hamamatsu Robotics Office Address 127 Toyooka-cho, Kita-ku, Hamamatsu-shi, Shizuoka Total Floor Area 52,317m²(current) ⇒82,042m²(after extension) Number of Employees 1,800 approx. (as of January 2022) *Including non-regular employees Business Overview Development, production and sales of surface mounting systems, industrial robots, and semiconductor manufacturing equipment ABOUT YAMAHA Robotics FA Section Yamaha Factory Automation Section (FA Section), a subdivision of Yamaha Motor Robotics Business Unit in Yamaha Motor Corporation, is focused on delivering flexible, high-accuracy industrial robots for precision automation challenges. With its roots in the introduction of robot technology to Yamaha motorcycle assembly activities, the division has over 40 years’ experience solving automation challenges from factory-scale to micron-level. Yamaha’s industrial robots are now trusted by leading corporations worldwide, in activities as diverse as semiconductor fabrication and assembling electronic products, domestic appliances, automotive components, and large liquid-crystal panels. Yamaha Motor FA Section offers a unified range of solutions for robotic assembly, including single-axis robots, SCARA, cartesian, and articulated robots. Innovations such as the LCMR200 linear conveyor module; a smoother, space-saving and more versatile successor to conventional belt and roller conveyors continue to set the pace in factory automation. Core robotic technologies as well as key components and complete robot systems are all produced in-house, ensuring consistent quality and control over lead-times. Headquartered in Neuss, Germany, Yamaha FA Section serves customers in all Europe. https://fa.yamaha-motor-robotics.de/ #DiscoverYamahaRobotics
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21. February 2022Yamaha Motor Robotics Factory Automation section has held its 2022 annual distributor meeting online. The digital format enabled the European agents to connect live with Yamaha’s branch office in Germany and Yamaha Motor Corporation headquarters in Japan. Reviewing the network’s performance in 2021, Yasushi Miyake, Branch Manager of Yamaha Motor Europe IM business, said, “We worked together to deliver imaginative solutions and achieved excellent results in return. By strengthening support and continuing to build our presence in the marketplace, we look forward to further growth in the year ahead.” Among fresh initiatives revealed during the meeting, a new online portal for agents accelerates solution integration and customer support by easing access to parts and setup information. In addition, the main Yamaha industrial robots website provides extra help to configure, program, and operate the robots, and add capabilities such as tracking. Live-streaming demonstrations from Japan gave agents the inside track on the latest technical advancements, including single-axis, SCARA, and LCMR200 robots in a battery-assembly simulation. The LCMR200 series of transport modules now includes a horizontal circulation unit to boost throughput and flexibility when using multiple lanes. This unit lets the LCMR200 sliders move easily between lanes for efficient, non-stop operation and allows maintaining sliders on the fly. Capping the event, the customary Yamaha Distributor Awards presentations recognized the top performers from 2021. Atti srl, Yamaha’s agent based in Milan, Italy, received the Most Valuable Distributor Award. Robot Plus S.L, of Madrid, Spain, received the year’s Best Service Provider award. And Renex, which serves Poland, Austria, the Balkans,and Romania, received the Special Achievement Award acknowledging their continued rapid growth in their customer base and training commitments. “The commitment from all our agents has been extremely strong this year,” said Jumpei Ninomiya, Sales Manager for Yamaha’s FA business. “The award-winning margins were extremely close and I want to thank everyone for their hard work and encourage us all to continue making our businesses stronger.” ABOUT YAMAHA Robotics FA Section Yamaha Factory Automation Section (FA Section), a subdivision of Yamaha Motor Robotics Business Unit in Yamaha Motor Corporation, is focused on delivering flexible, high-accuracy industrial robots for precision automation challenges. With its roots in the introduction of robot technology to Yamaha motorcycle assembly activities, the division has over 40 years’ experience solving automation challenges from factory-scale to micron-level. Yamaha’s industrial robots are now trusted by leading corporations worldwide, in activities as diverse as semiconductor fabrication and assembling electronic products, domestic appliances, automotive components, and large liquid-crystal panels. Yamaha Motor FA Section offers a unified range of solutions for robotic assembly, including single-axis robots, SCARA, cartesian, and articulated robots. Innovations such as the LCMR200 linear conveyor module; a smoother, space-saving and more versatile successor to conventional belt and roller conveyors continue to set the pace in factory automation. Core robotic technologies as well as key components and complete robot systems are all produced in-house, ensuring consistent quality and control over lead-times. Headquartered in Neuss, Germany, Yamaha FA Section serves customers in all Europe. https://fa.yamaha-motor-robotics.de/ #DiscoverYamahaRobotics
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10. January 2022Slider type lineup gains slimmer LBAS12 and ABAS12 models Yamaha Motor Europe Robotics, FA Section announced today that its Robotics Operations has added new rod type models to the basic model lineup of the Robonity industrial robot series* and that slimmer models with reduced height will be added to the existing lineup of slider types. These additions to the Robonity Series will expand it to 29 models, offering clients an even greater range of products to choose from. The Robonity Series includes motorless single-axis actuators that enable clients to use motors and drivers they are accustomed to and single-axis robots that are bundled with the EP-01 robot positioner. The Series is composed of “basic models” featuring high rigidity, compact construction, and low cost, and “advanced models” boasting high precision, high durability, and cleanroom-ready specifications, allowing clients to select models that best suit their needs. Newly added to the basic model range are the LBAR motorless single-axis rod type actuator and the ABAR single-axis rod type robot. Their main features include 1) a built-in linear guide design that ensures rigidity so that straight-line performance is unaffected even when a radial load is applied and high operational precision with ±0° rod non-rotating accuracy, 2) construction contributing to equipment downsizing with a size some 65% more compact compared to conventional models, and 3) support for long strokes up to 800 mm. Added to the slider type lineup are the slimmer LBAS12 motorless single-axis actuator and ABAS12 single-axis robot. Greater stability has been achieved by reviewing the design and reducing the height. These are ideal when used for the X-axis of Cartesian robots and also contribute to overall downsizing. LBAR motorless single-axis rod type actuator (left) and ABAS12 slim single-axis slider type robot (right) *“Robonity” is a coined word combining “robot” and “infinity” together and the name is meant to express the series’ rich array of variations. Main Features of Robonity Series’ LBAR and ABAR Rod Type Models High rigidity, compact design, long stroke availability High-rigidity specification with built-in linear guide: Thanks to the one-piece construction with built-in linear guide, straight-line performance is not impaired even when a radial load is applied. Further, juddering in the direction of rotation is inhibited and tools attached to the tip of the rod achieve ±0° of non-rotating accuracy. It also becomes possible to eliminate the need for an external guide, which saves on the time, effort, and cost involved in installing one. Approx. 65% greater compactness than conventional models: Compared to a conventional model (TRANSERVO Series SRD05), a LBAR05 of the same size is some 65% narrower in width. This contributes to the downsizing of factory equipment. Supports long strokes: Features a maximum stroke of 800 mm. Compared to a conventional model (TRANSERVO Series SRD05), a LBAR05 of the same size supports approximately twice its stroke capability at 600 mm. Main Features of Robonity Series’ LBAS12 and ABAS12 Slim Slider Type Models Slim construction enables a lower center of gravity, making it ideal for the X-axis of Cartesian robots By completely reviewing the design, external width has been reduced to 120 mm and the height lowered to 76 mm, thereby contributing to the downsizing of facility equipment. In addition, the center of gravity is lower thanks to the slimmer construction, making the unit ideal for use as the X-axis of a Cartesian robot. It can also be used across a wide range of situations as it is compatible with both 200W and 400W motors with the same frame width. Other Features of the Robonity Series Simulator makes it easier to select optimum specifications You can check projected cycle time and ball screw life by entering basic parameters into the simulator on the website. *For rod types, only cycle time can be checked.3 ABOUT YAMAHA Robotics FA Section Yamaha Factory Automation Section (FA Section), a subdivision of Yamaha Motor Robotics Business Unit in Yamaha Motor Corporation, is focused on delivering flexible, high-accuracy industrial robots for precision automation challenges. With its roots in the introduction of robot technology to Yamaha motorcycle assembly activities, the division has over 40 years’ experience solving automation challenges from factory-scale to micron-level. Yamaha’s industrial robots are now trusted by leading corporations worldwide, in activities as diverse as semiconductor fabrication and assembling electronic products, domestic appliances, automotive components, and large liquid-crystal panels. Yamaha Motor FA Section offers a unified range of solutions for robotic assembly, including single-axis robots, SCARA, cartesian, and articulated robots. Innovations such as the LCMR200 linear conveyor module; a smoother, space-saving and more versatile successor to conventional belt and roller conveyors continue to set the pace in factory automation. Core robotic technologies as well as key components and complete robot systems are all produced in-house, ensuring consistent quality and control over lead-times. Headquartered in Neuss, Germany, Yamaha FA Section serves customers in all Europe. https://fa.yamaha-motor-robotics.de/ #DiscoverYamahaRobotics
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18. October 2021Return of face-to-face interaction highlights innovative, accessible robots, fast and efficient vision, and high-speed, flexible workpiece transport solutions for cleaner, safer industry Yamaha Motor Robotics Factory Automation Section shared advanced robotics and Haribo sweets with visitors at Motek 2021, held in Stuttgart from October 5-8. Europe’s showcase for state-of-the-art industrial automation, Motek presented one of the first opportunities in almost two years for the region’s robotics experts to meet face to face. “We were encouraged at the level of attendance by visitors looking to discover how the latest industrial robots can improve operations and business performance,” commented Yasushi Miyake, Branch Manager of Yamaha Motor Europe IM business. “We feel very positive about the signs going forward, and the contribution our industry can make towards ensuring safety and prosperity.” Visitors to Yamaha’s Motek Booth discovered the latest solutions for safe and productive industry While protecting customers, partners, and employees, Yamaha has continued to work on product innovations, including advanced software that simplifies control and programming, as well as SCARA robots such as the latest YK-XE series. Engineered for affordability and performance, the YK-XE series can take loads from 4kg to 10kg and handle items such as textiles, foodstuffs, and high-tech components in activities from packaging and logistics to product assembly. At Motek, the YK400XE, which has 400mm arm length, served visitors with Haribo sweets during the show, working with Yamaha’s latest RCXiVY2+ vision system. RCXiVY2+ introduces new features such as blob detection for tracking objects like items of food and clothing that have no defined shape. The RCXiVY2+ system is managed directly by the main RCX340 controller using dedicated robot-vision instructions, which ensures greater speed and efficiency than traditional machine vision. Yamaha’s YK400XE with RCXiVY2+ vision served jellies to demonstrate accurate picking of objects such as foodstuffs and textiles An additional demonstration showed the YK400XE and RCXiVY2+ working with Asyril’s Asycube intelligent parts feeder, integrated using software created by Yamaha, to accelerate picking bulk components and accurate placement with orientation checking on the fly. Demonstrating flexible workpiece transportation, Yamaha’s LCMR200 linear conveyor module showed how its programmable direction, speed, and acceleration give extra flexibility. Where traditional belt and roller conveyors typically allow a single direction and fixed speed, LCMR200 lets system integrators maximise the throughput and minimise the footprint of any cell containing one or more robots performing processes such as picking, placing, dispensing, mechanical assembly, and packaging. They can also enhance the productivity of semi-automated and manual production lines. For more information about Yamaha’s industrial robots please visit https://fa.yamaha-motor-robotics.de/yamaha-robotics/. ABOUT YAMAHA Robotics FA Section Yamaha Factory Automation Section (FA Section), a subdivision of Yamaha Motor Robotics Business Unit in Yamaha Motor Corporation, is focused on delivering flexible, high-accuracy industrial robots for precision automation challenges. With its roots in the introduction of robot technology to Yamaha motorcycle assembly activities, the division has over 40 years’ experience solving automation challenges from factory-scale to micron-level. Yamaha’s industrial robots are now trusted by leading corporations worldwide, in activities as diverse as semiconductor fabrication and assembling electronic products, domestic appliances, automotive components, and large liquid-crystal panels. Yamaha Motor FA Section offers a unified range of solutions for robotic assembly, including single-axis robots, SCARA, cartesian, and articulated robots. Innovations such as the LCMR200 linear conveyor module; a smoother, space-saving and more versatile successor to conventional belt and roller conveyors continue to set the pace in factory automation. Core robotic technologies as well as key components and complete robot systems are all produced in-house, ensuring consistent quality and control over lead-times. Headquartered in Neuss, Germany, Yamaha FA Section serves customers in all Europe. https://fa.yamaha-motor-robotics.de/ #DiscoverYamahaRobotics
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11. October 2021Affordable SCARA robots can help businesses tackle a wide variety of challenges, and continue to offer extra flexibility, increased performance, and greater ease of use with each new generation Industrial robots continue are enabling manufacturing and logistics companies to increase productivity and reduce costs, and also make it possible to industrialize new products that are impractical or uneconomic to assemble using traditional methods. Each new generation of machines is becoming more affordable, easier to use, faster, and more efficient. While the pandemic has disrupted market trends across the board, demand for robots has continued to increase. One driving factor is that companies have identified investing in robotics as a solution to maintaining output while ensuring workers can be protected from infection. This is expected to continue. Fortune Business Insights valued the total industrial robot market at $14.6 billion in 2020 and predicts over 10% CAGR in the 2021-28 period. Industrial robots are available in many different forms to tackle a wide variety of tasks. At one end of the spectrum, large machines designed for heavy lifting and high-speed processes work in areas where human access is restricted to ensure safety. At the other, benchtop-sized collaborative robots (cobots) coexist with human workers, taking over repetitive, exacting, or time-critical tasks. In between those two extremes, robots built to handle loads from a few grams to about 50kg are automating a wide variety of processes that involve repeatedly retrieving, moving, and placing items. typically, users may be seeking to increase speed, accuracy, and repeatability, or eliminate human contact with items such as food or sterile materials. Among these, the SCARA (Selective Compliance Assembly Robot Arm) robot is widely used in industrial automation projects. SCARA robots are a mature and affordable technology. They can be installed alone or in groups with other SCARA robots, or with different types such as cartesian, single-axis, and multi-axis robots (figure 1). Moreover, they combine well with Yamaha’s LCMR200 linear conveyor modules, which provide flexible workpiece transport. Unlike conventional belt-and-roller conveyors, these modules are programmed and controlled in the same way as other robots to create a fully integrated and coordinated robotic assembly cell. A closer look at the latest generations of SCARA robots shows how these machines continue to evolve to meet the demands of modern manufacturing. Figure 1. SCARA machine in a mixed-robot cell with programmable modular conveyors. The SCARA Advantage At a quick glance, today’s SCARA robots may seem little different from earliest generations of machines. Like their predecessors, the defining feature is a jointed 2-link arm that operates in a single plane. While science fiction and early cobots such as Baxter have presented humanoid forms, the SCARA has proved enduringly excellent at imitating the human arm: it can extend and retract, and rotate about the axis of both the “shoulder” and “elbow”, independently and simultaneously. It can move to an infinite number of locations within the envelope defined by the maximum extension of the two links, and can also reach inside enclosures. Thanks to this flexibility, SCARA robots can handle a wide range of operations such as moving objects from one location to another, picking and placing or positioning components in assemblies, and executing processes such as screwdriving, dispensing, and engraving. In addition to this great flexibility, accuracy and precision are further strengths that enable SCARA robots to tackle demanding industrial tasks and deliver outstanding repeatability. Yamaha’s YK-XE low-cost, high-performance SCARA family, which handles payloads in the 4kg to 10kg range,contains models with specified repeatability as close as ±0.01mm in X, Y, and Z axes, and ±0.01° in rotation. The YK710XE is an exception. With the greatest arm length in the family, reaching 710mm, it has ±0.02mm repeatability in X and Y axes. The accuracy and precision of these robots allows use in tasks such as positioning tiny mechanical components like small springs or washers, or picking and placing surface-mount electronic components. Their payload capacity also allows them to be used for transfer or assembly of heavy workpieces such as automotive parts. This sounds like the perfect robot, ready to turn mundane and repetitive tasks into processes that can help businesses that decide to invest stand out above their competitors. The robots can work faster, for longer, and with fewer errors than human workers, allowing human skills – extreme dexterity, problem solving, creativity - to be employed more usefully elsewhere. But there are always opportunities to improve the machines, such as enhancing speed, reliability, and ease of use. Motion Control The latest generation of Yamaha’s YK-XE SCARA robots are designed with a new lightened head assembly and enhanced motion control that ensure faster acceleration and reduced vibration. The control strategies Yamaha developed for its SCARA machines automatically optimizes the linear and angular acceleration, taking into account the arm orientation and the inertia of the payload, to limit the maximum torque, prevent excessive vibration, and enhance controllability. This helps not only minimise the cycle time but also relieves mechanical stresses to enhance reliability. Robot Vision With their precision motion control, SCARA robots bring increased productivity to numerous industrial processes. Integrating a vision system further extends the machine’s applications by enabling capabilities such as conveyor tracking, position detection, and position compensation to enhance the accuracy of processes like depositing adhesive or sealant on the edge of an assembly, or affixing labels on components that may be irregularly positioned on a substrate. Yamaha’s RCXiVY2+ vision system (figure 2) is implemented with a vision board, lighting board, and tracking board that are installed in the RCX3 series multi-axis robot controller. This brings together the management of robot control, image processing, lighting control, and the data processing needed for conveyor tracking within the robot program, significantly reducing equipment setup time. Figure 2. SCARA robot fitted with camera for iVY2+ vision system. The RCXiVY2+ system has a new blob detection capability that can recognize workpieces from two to ten times faster than the edge detection technique used in previous. This allows robots to handle detection, picking, and high-speed counting of multiple items of indeterminate shape and size, such as foodstuffs and clothing. Programming Software To help configure a single robot or assembly cell, richly featured software tools from the supplier can make robot programming and setup easier and faster. Yamaha’s RCX-Studio 2020 environment provides tools to help manage robots from setup to maintenance and now contains wizards for automatically generating sample applications. These ready-to-use templates help easily program common actions like picking and placing, palletizing, and conveyor tracking, including processes that involve vision, without needing to write commands. There are also tools like an emulator, cycle-time calculator, and real-time tracing, while another new feature is the 3D simulator for checking, debugging, and optimizing programs offline. Tools available in the simulator include a trajectory display, which lets operators assess the robot’s movements, and interference checking to help avoid collisions with other robots or peripherals. Up to four robots can be simulated together and observed from multiple viewpoints simultaneously. By using the simulator, the positions of robots, the sequence of actions, and optimal speed settings can be decided quickly before any real installation work begins. This can save a great deal of costly trial and error, particularly when setting up a multi-robot assembly cell, and allows production to begin sooner. Conclusion The SCARA robot has been the main type deployed in industrial applications, delivering high speed and reliability as well as outstanding accuracy. The latest generations continue to improve on these familiar metrics. As the economic argument for automation continues to gain strength, companies looking to infuse robotics into their processes have a wider and greater choice than ever before. The SCARA continues to improve, bringing new advancements with each successive generation, to offer a more economically viable, accessible choice with extra capabilities, faster cycle times, and greater precision as well as reliability and ease of use and programming. ABOUT YAMAHA Robotics FA Section Yamaha Factory Automation Section (FA Section), a subdivision of Yamaha Motor Robotics Business Unit in Yamaha Motor Corporation, is focused on delivering flexible, high-accuracy industrial robots for precision automation challenges. With its roots in the introduction of robot technology to Yamaha motorcycle assembly activities, the division has over 40 years’ experience solving automation challenges from factory-scale to micron-level. Yamaha’s industrial robots are now trusted by leading corporations worldwide, in activities as diverse as semiconductor fabrication and assembling electronic products, domestic appliances, automotive components, and large liquid-crystal panels. Yamaha Motor FA Section offers a unified range of solutions for robotic assembly, including single-axis robots, SCARA, cartesian, and articulated robots. Innovations such as the LCMR200 linear conveyor module; a smoother, space-saving and more versatile successor to conventional belt and roller conveyors continue to set the pace in factory automation. Core robotic technologies as well as key components and complete robot systems are all produced in-house, ensuring consistent quality and control over lead-times. Headquartered in Neuss, Germany, Yamaha FA Section serves customers in all Europe. https://fa.yamaha-motor-robotics.de/ #DiscoverYamahaRobotics
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29. September 2021Yamaha Robotics Factory Automation section has appointed Growskills Robotics as its distributor in Portugal. The move strengthens support for enterprises seeking to modernise their processes using the Company’s portfolio of robots for light industrial applications. “With experience in education and training, as well as sales and support, Growskills Robotics can show the market how our technologies transform key metrics like quality, delivery, and productivity,” said Jumpei Ninomiya, Yamaha FA Sales Manager for Europe. “Together, we can help customers automate and improve the performance of numerous processes that involve component picking, placement, packaging, and light mechanical assembly.” Growskills in Matosinhos “We are looking forward to a successful and rewarding collaboration with Yamaha, using flexible, affordable robots to overcome the challenges that face manufacturing and logistics companies,” said António Fernandes, General Manager, Growskills Robotics. “The Yamaha portfolio addresses inline and standalone applications, and enables end-to-end automated solutions that are fast, reliable, and scalable.” The Yamaha portfolio includes SCARA and cartesian, multi-axis robot arms, and single-axis robots, featured for use in environments from small factories and workshops to laboratory cleanrooms. There is a wide selection of SCARA robots, including the competitively-priced YK-XE series that offers arm-length options up to 710mm and load capacity from 4kg to 10kg. In addition, Yamaha’s LCMR200 programmable high-speed linear conveyor modules handle workpiece transport and are quieter and more flexible than conventional belt-and-roller conveyors. The RCXiVY2+ system simplifies adding vision capabilities and connects directly with the RCX340 robot controller for efficient performance with minimal latency. ABOUT YAMAHA Robotics FA Section Yamaha Factory Automation Section (FA Section), a subdivision of Yamaha Motor Robotics Business Unit in Yamaha Motor Corporation, is focused on delivering flexible, high-accuracy industrial robots for precision automation challenges. With its roots in the introduction of robot technology to Yamaha motorcycle assembly activities, the division has over 40 years’ experience solving automation challenges from factory-scale to micron-level. Yamaha’s industrial robots are now trusted by leading corporations worldwide, in activities as diverse as semiconductor fabrication and assembling electronic products, domestic appliances, automotive components, and large liquid-crystal panels. Yamaha Motor FA Section offers a unified range of solutions for robotic assembly, including single-axis robots, SCARA, cartesian, and articulated robots. Innovations such as the LCMR200 linear conveyor module; a smoother, space-saving and more versatile successor to conventional belt and roller conveyors continue to set the pace in factory automation. Core robotic technologies as well as key components and complete robot systems are all produced in-house, ensuring consistent quality and control over lead-times. Headquartered in Neuss, Germany, Yamaha FA Section serves customers in all Europe. https://fa.yamaha-motor-robotics.de/ #DiscoverYamahaRobotics
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23. August 2021Physical exhibition and digital showroom maximise visitor opportunities Yamaha Motor Europe FA Section will exhibit flexible and affordable robotic solutions at Motek 2021, the industrial automation showcase scheduled for October 5-8 in Stuttgart, Germany. Live demonstrations will highlight the broad portfolio of Yamaha robots and accessories that boost productivity by raising the speed, accuracy, and repeatability of packing, placement, and assembly processes. The demonstrations will include a YK400XE SCARA robot with Yamaha’s RCXiVY2+ vision system, individually picking mixed sweets to illustrate high-speed recognition and handling for objects of indeterminate size and shape. Yamaha’s YK-XE SCARA robots are engineered for high performance and affordability, bringing advanced and flexible automation to highly competitive manufacturing scenarios. A second demonstration featuring the YK400XE, leveraging software created by Yamaha to integrate Asyril’s Asycube intelligent parts feeder, accelerates picking and accurate placement of bulk components. Orientation checking on-the-fly, with Yamaha’s RCXiVY2+ vision system, further boosts productivity. Yamaha LCMR200 The LCMR200 linear conveyor module will also be in action, highlighting advanced transportation of workpieces with programmable direction, speed, and acceleration. Combining capabilities above and beyond conventional belt-and-roller conveyors, with modular flexibility, the LCMR200 can increase throughput in fully automated, semi-automated, or fully manual production lines. Motek visitors can find Yamaha at stand 7515 in hall 7, get their daily free entry ticket and learn more about the displayed solutions by visiting https://fa.yamaha-motor-robotics.de/yamaha-robotics/. ABOUT YAMAHA Robotics FA Section Yamaha Factory Automation Section (FA Section), a subdivision of Yamaha Motor Robotics Business Unit in Yamaha Motor Corporation, is focused on delivering flexible, high-accuracy industrial robots for precision automation challenges. With its roots in the introduction of robot technology to Yamaha motorcycle assembly activities, the division has over 40 years’ experience solving automation challenges from factory-scale to micron-level. Yamaha’s industrial robots are now trusted by leading corporations worldwide, in activities as diverse as semiconductor fabrication and assembling electronic products, domestic appliances, automotive components, and large liquid-crystal panels. Yamaha Motor FA Section offers a unified range of solutions for robotic assembly, including single-axis robots, SCARA, cartesian, and articulated robots. Innovations such as the LCMR200 linear conveyor module; a smoother, space-saving and more versatile successor to conventional belt and roller conveyors continue to set the pace in factory automation. Core robotic technologies as well as key components and complete robot systems are all produced in-house, ensuring consistent quality and control over lead-times. Headquartered in Neuss, Germany, Yamaha FA Section serves customers in all Europe. https://fa.yamaha-motor-robotics.de/ #DiscoverYamahaRobotics
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14. June 2021S.D.A technical skills and market presence strengthen central Europe sales and support network Yamaha Motor Europe Factory Automation section has announced a distribution agreement with Slovakia-based S.D.A. s.r.o. to extend sales and customer support for Yamaha industrial robots in Slovakia and Czech Republic. S.D.A (Sensors. Drives. Automation) has rich expertise and an extensive portfolio of associated products from leading suppliers that facilitate delivery of high-performing, flexible automation. The main sales and technical office in Banská Bystrica, central Slovakia, is well located to serve enterprises throughout the region. “Our agreement with S.D.A further strengthens our commitment to helping enterprises in central Europe leverage our technologies for a competitive edge,” said Jumpei Ninomiya, Yamaha FA Sales Manager for Europe. “The team is highly motivated and experienced, with a large number of automation solutions successfully delivered.” “We are confident in our skills and connections to boost Yamaha’s presence here and continue to deliver satisfaction for our customers,” said Jaroslav Fiľo, Managing Director of SDA. “The outstanding performance and value provided by the Yamaha robots enable us to transform diverse processes in applications ranging from precision manufacturing to high-speed packaging.” Yamaha’s portfolio of SCARA, cartesian, multi-axis and single-axis robots, and programmable linear bidirectional conveyor modules such as the LCMR200 deliver the benefits of flexible, high-performance automation to a wide range of industrial activities. With the latest YK-XG SCARA robots, available in various sizes including arm-length options from 120mm to 1200mm and maximum payload from 1kg to 50kg, the portfolio offers a wide range of choices to tackle challenges such as picking, placing, dispensing, assembly, and packaging. High reliability and easy integration are assured, in all environments ranging from small factories or workshops to laboratory cleanrooms. ABOUT YAMAHA Robotics FA Section Yamaha Factory Automation Section (FA Section), a subdivision of Yamaha Motor Robotics Business Unit in Yamaha Motor Corporation, is focused on delivering flexible, high-accuracy industrial robots for precision automation challenges. With its roots in the introduction of robot technology to Yamaha motorcycle assembly activities, the division has over 40 years’ experience solving automation challenges from factory-scale to micron-level. Yamaha’s industrial robots are now trusted by leading corporations worldwide, in activities as diverse as semiconductor fabrication and assembling electronic products, domestic appliances, automotive components, and large liquid-crystal panels. Yamaha Motor FA Section offers a unified range of solutions for robotic assembly, including single-axis robots, SCARA, cartesian, and articulated robots. Innovations such as the LCMR200 linear conveyor module; a smoother, space-saving and more versatile successor to conventional belt and roller conveyors continue to set the pace in factory automation. Core robotic technologies as well as key components and complete robot systems are all produced in-house, ensuring consistent quality and control over lead-times. Headquartered in Neuss, Germany, Yamaha FA Section serves customers in all Europe. https://fa.yamaha-motor-robotics.de/ #DiscoverYamahaRobotics -
8. June 2021Industrial robot portfolio to demonstrate total line solutions at June digital showcase Yamaha Motor Robotics FA Section is to present its industrial robot portfolio at automatica sprint 2021, June 22-24, illustrating end-to-end automation of complex processes for maximum productivity. The digital event lets visitors browse Yamaha’s range of SCARA, cartesian, and single-axis robots that can work together or individually in flexible configurations. LCMR200 linear conveyor modules, with programmable speed, direction, and stop positions provide flexible transport between processes. In addition, Yamaha’s iVY2+ system delivers plug-and-play integrated vision for any of the robots, with optimized robot-vision commands for simplified programming and superior performance. Yamaha has also prepared a special presentation with Q&A opportunities, lasting 20 minutes, at 10.00am CET on June 23rd. The presentation will explain how industrial organisations can automate processes quickly and efficiently using Yamaha’s total line solution. Yamaha specialists will be contactable throughout the event, to answer technical and sales queries. Visitors can also message directly and register their interest to follow-up after the event. Mr. Yasushi Miyake, Branch Manager, Yamaha Robotics Europe, said, “We are anticipating this event eagerly as a valuable opportunity to connect with current and potential customers to showcase our latest advanced technologies and solutions to enhance their operational performance.” Register now with Yamaha voucher code YAMAHAsprint21 for a free event ticket under under Ticket to automatica sprint 2021. ABOUT YAMAHA Robotics FA Section Yamaha Factory Automation Section (FA Section), a subdivision of Yamaha Motor Robotics Business Unit in Yamaha Motor Corporation, is focused on delivering flexible, high-accuracy industrial robots for precision automation challenges. With its roots in the introduction of robot technology to Yamaha motorcycle assembly activities, the division has over 40 years’ experience solving automation challenges from factory-scale to micron-level. Yamaha’s industrial robots are now trusted by leading corporations worldwide, in activities as diverse as semiconductor fabrication and assembling electronic products, domestic appliances, automotive components, and large liquid-crystal panels. Yamaha Motor FA Section offers a unified range of solutions for robotic assembly, including single-axis robots, SCARA, cartesian, and articulated robots. Innovations such as the LCMR200 linear conveyor module; a smoother, space-saving and more versatile successor to conventional belt and roller conveyors continue to set the pace in factory automation. Core robotic technologies as well as key components and complete robot systems are all produced in-house, ensuring consistent quality and control over lead-times. Headquartered in Neuss, Germany, Yamaha FA Section serves customers in all Europe. https://fa.yamaha-motor-robotics.de/ #DiscoverYamahaRobotics
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10. May 2021Success in manufacturing is a moving target. Planners routinely face demands to reduce cycle time, increase capacity, introduce new products more quickly, and utilise available floorspace efficiently. The methods employed to move workpieces between the various production processes can significantly influence the extent to which these goals are achieved. 1.Scale Production When Factory Floorspace is Full Sometimes, rotary indexing tables are used to move workpieces from one machine to the next, quickly, to perform a sequence of assembly processes. When designing and setting up an assembly sequence to be performed using indexing tables, process engineers must consider critical indexing table parameters such as resolution, repeatability, accuracy, and allowable backlash and hysteresis. If throughput needs to be increased, it may be possible simply to increase the rotational speed as the table moves between index positions. If an extra machine needs to be added to the sequence, installed either around the perimeter of the table or in the centre, this can be a complex task. Equipment currently in place must usually be moved to a new position to accommodate the extra machine. Scalability is limited, however, by the circumference of the table. Adding an extra machine may be physically impossible. When the limits of speed and table size have been reached, the only alternative may be to add an extra indexing table. This can demand significant extra space, which may not be available. 2. Find More Ways to Cut Line Cycle Time When moving workpieces from process to process along a production line, conventional belt-and-roller conveyors are often the transport of choice. These are equally suited to carrying workpieces between automated machinery or hand-assembly stations (figure 1). Figure 1. Manual or automated assembly processes depend on fast, efficient workpiece transport. Typically the conveyor speed is fixed and movement is unidirectional. To cut the cycle time and thus raise production line throughput, the obvious course of action may be simply to increase the conveyor speed. This is not always successful and, in fact, can be counterproductive in some situations. The issue comes when stopping the moving workpieces, which is typically done with a mechanism such as a micro-switch or end stop that brings the conveyor to an abrupt stop. Some companies have found that workpieces have become displaced and carrier trays or pallets damaged. Stopping work to remedy these issues reduces productivity. 3. Save Cost and Space with Process Sharing When working out how to automate the assembly of a new product, some processes – such as driving screws, applying adhesive, or installing a multi-part bezel – may need to be performed more than once on the same workpiece. To complete the processes in a traditional unidirectional sequence, the same type of machine would need to be installed at several places along the assembly line. Both space and capital budget could be saved if a workpiece could be returned to, say, a screwdriving machine to install a second set of screws immediately after a process that positions an outer cover or enclosure. However, moving workpieces backwards along the production line to achieve this is not easy to arrange using conventional conveyors. 4. Streamline Workpiece Handling Another aspect of the traditional conveyor that can slow production and hinder attempts to increase productivity is the fact that workpieces must usually be removed from the belt and placed in a holder such as a tray, chuck, or vice before any process can be performed. This could be done by hand or by an automated pick-and-place mechanism. The workpiece must subsequently be returned to the conveyor to move to the next process. Arranging this sequence of pick, place, and replace actions adds to the cost of process automation as well as the line cycle time. One advantage of indexing tables is that this is usually not necessary. However, indexing tables can be subject to the limitations already described. Scale Production with Linear Modules Linear conveyor modules such as Yamaha’s state-of-the-art LCMR200 units (figure 2) enable workpiece transport to become an active aspect of the assembly sequence. Compared to conventional conveyors, these modules allow higher transit speeds and smoother, faster acceleration and deceleration, as well as greater positioning accuracy, finer tolerances, and increased rigidity. Figure 2. Linear conveyor module for workpiece transport features independently controlled sliders. High precision and flexibility allow linear conveyor modules to present an alternative to rotary index tables that enable production to be scaled more quickly and easily. Yamaha recently helped a product manufacturer to simultaneously increase production capacity and accelerate new-product introduction using linear conveyor modules. The production team knew they could not achieve these targets with the rotary indexing tables the company had used before. The company’s technicians found that linear conveyor modules allowed for the number of processes involved in a production sequence to be increased more easily than indexing tables typically allow, by adding extra modules. On the other hand, the team was also able to utilise the available factory floorspace more efficiently. In addition, they were able to define the workpiece stop positions accurately, and fine-tune the positions easily by reprogramming the conveyor modules. The module sliders are individually controlled by the Yamaha YHX universal controller, which has 64 output channels. Using the linear modules, this company was able to setup its new production facility, incorporating additional processes as part of a more complex assembly sequence, in about half the time needed to reorganise a simple sequence performed on an indexing table. Accelerate Cycle Time For companies seeking to improve cycle time, the smooth servo-controlled acceleration and deceleration, higher maximum speed, and repeatability allow workpieces to be delivered more quickly to the desired positi Yamaha’s linear conveyor modules have enabled manufacturers building high-value products such as smartphone handsets to cut cycle time in response to customer demands and increase efficiency by eliminating line stoppages to fix problems such as broken pallets and displaced workpieces. Introducing new products, or reconfiguring and scaling the line to build new products and increase capacity, has also become faster. The modular design allows the line layout to be changed quickly and easily and all slider stop positions can be reprogrammed as needed. LCMR200 modules are available in various standard lengths from 200mm to 1000mm and the slider speed is adjustable up to a maximum of 2500mm per second, for payloads below 10kg. The maximum acceleration is 1.3g, equivalent to a 0-100kph time under 2.2 seconds, giving great scope to reduce the time for workpieces to move between processes when seeking to reduce cycle time. Leverage Flexibility for Process Sharing Moreover, by enabling bidirectional movement, linear conveyor modules give the flexibility to move workpieces forwards as well as backwards between processes in the line. This creates the opportunity to handle duplicated processes using a single workstation - such as the two-stage screwdriving case, mentioned earlier - without interfering with other inline equipment upstream or downstream (figure 3). The capital cost and footprint of the line can thus be optimised to suit the available budget and factory floorspace. Figure 3. Sliders can move in either direction between workstations to save duplication. The YHX controller centralises control of the conveyor sliders and other factory automation devices such as SCARA and cartesian robots and their peripherals, and so enables users to setup a complete automated assembly cell quickly and easily. The YHX Studio tool simplifies programming with ladder graphics or text entry, helping to visualize the cell as a complete entity and so optimise all interactions between robots and conveyor sliders. Cut Transfer Times by 50% Linear conveyor modules like Yamaha’s LCMR200 series are built with high-rigidity guides that provide the stability needed for assembly processes to be performed directly on the carriage without removing the workpiece from the module (figure 4). Figure 4. Linear conveyor modules allow working directly on sliders and integrate easily with industrial robots. The circulation unit at the line end enhances flexibility to optimise the layout. The LCMR200 provides accurate and repeatable control of the workpiece position and the covered design prevents foreign objects such as process waste entering the module. Performing processes while parts are on the carriage saves the time to design automated equipment for unloading and reloading workpieces from the conveyor, as well as the cost of the equipment and factory floorspace. The impact on cycle time, as workpieces are unloaded for processing and subsequently transferred back onto the conveyor, is also eliminated. Conclusion Saving space, cutting cycle time, enabling process sharing, and eliminating avoidable picking and replacement of workpieces are four ways linear conveyor modules can help to increase manufacturing productivity. In addition, independent slider control with programmable parameters such as stop positions and speed promote flexibility and scalability to meet changing market demands and accelerate new-product introduction. Linear conveyor modules are also an ideal companion to industrial robots, permitting centralised control for ease of use and efficiency. ABOUT YAMAHA Robotics FA Section Yamaha Factory Automation Section (FA Section), a subdivision of Yamaha Motor Robotics Business Unit in Yamaha Motor Corporation, is focused on delivering flexible, high-accuracy industrial robots for precision automation challenges. With its roots in the introduction of robot technology to Yamaha motorcycle assembly activities, the division has over 40 years’ experience solving automation challenges from factory-scale to micron-level. Yamaha’s industrial robots are now trusted by leading corporations worldwide, in activities as diverse as semiconductor fabrication and assembling electronic products, domestic appliances, automotive components, and large liquid-crystal panels. Yamaha Motor FA Section offers a unified range of solutions for robotic assembly, including single-axis robots, SCARA, cartesian, and articulated robots. Innovations such as the LCMR200 linear conveyor module; a smoother, space-saving and more versatile successor to conventional belt and roller conveyors continue to set the pace in factory automation. Core robotic technologies as well as key components and complete robot systems are all produced in-house, ensuring consistent quality and control over lead-times. Headquartered in Neuss, Germany, Yamaha FA Section serves customers in all Europe. https://fa.yamaha-motor-robotics.de/ #DiscoverYamahaRobotics
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26. April 2021First design accolades ever for a Yamaha industrial robot Yamaha Motor Europe announced today that the company’s LCMR200 industrial robot (linear conveyor module for transfer systems) and the TRICITY 300 commuter model have both won Germany’s internationally prestigious iF Design Award and Red Dot Award: Product Design 2021. This marks the eighth consecutive year the company has won an iF Design Award and the tenth straight year winning a Red Dot Award. It is also the first time a Yamaha Motor industrial robot has received either of these. The LCMR200 is a linear conveyor using a modular construction and consists of a linear motor that delivers high-speed, high-precision movements and a slider for loading and transferring work pieces. The sliders can all move independently, and because assembly work can be performed on the slider itself and the work then transferred as-is, the LCMR200 greatly improves space efficiency and achieves high productivity. It also yields greater freedom for line construction and enables fast production changes. The motor driver is built into the thin, single-piece module body made of anodized aluminum, which beautifully harmonizes with surrounding factory equipment, and the design also reduces wiring work. Yamaha LCMR200 Über Yamaha Motor Robotics FA Section Yamaha Motor Factory Automation Section (FA Section), Unterabteilung der Yamaha Motor Robotics Business Unit von Yamaha Motor Corporation, konzentriert sich auf die Lieferung flexibler, hochpräziser Industrieroboter für die Herausforderungen der Präzisionsautomatisierung. Die Abteilung hat ihre Wurzeln in der Einführung der Robotertechnologie in die Yamaha-Motorradmontage und verfügt über mehr als 40 Jahre Erfahrung bei der Lösung von Automatisierungsaufgaben von der Montage großer Produkte bis zum Mikrometerbereich. Die Industrieroboter von Yamaha Motor werden heute von weltweit führenden Unternehmen in so unterschiedlichen Bereichen wie der Halbleiterfertigung und der Montage von Elektronikprodukten, Haushaltsgeräten, Automobilkomponenten und großen Flüssigkristallanzeigen eingesetzt. Yamaha Motor FA Section bietet eine weite Palette von Lösungen für die Roboter-Montage, darunter Einachsroboter, SCARA-Roboter, kartesische und Knickarmroboter. Innovationen wie das Linearfördermodul LCM200R, ein laufruhiger, platzsparender und vielseitigerer Nachfolger konventioneller Band- und Rollenförderer, bestimmen nach wie vor das Tempo in der Fabrikautomatisierung. Die Kerntechnologien der Robotik sowie Schlüsselkomponenten und komplette Robotersysteme werden im eigenen Haus hergestellt, was eine konstante Qualität und Kontrolle der Lieferzeiten sicherstellt. Yamaha Motor FA Section mit Sitz in Neuss (Deutschland) bedient Kunden in ganz Europa. https://fa.yamaha-motor-robotics.de/ #DiscoverYamahaRobotics
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1. March 2021Businesses that build, handle, and ship products are looking for ways to increase productivity by raising output without compromising accuracy. It’s the key to delivering the best possible value and the fastest turnaround to maximize customer satisfaction and maintain the competitive edge. Automation as Opportunity Introducing new technology to automate assembly and handling processes is known to increase output and quality while at the same time helping reduce costs. The first companies to get the right recipe can quickly leave others behind. Infusing robots into industrial activities could be a part of the solution. Exact figures are application dependent, but one estimate is that introducing a robot to perform a single key process in a production line can increase output by as much as 40%. The simple facts are that robots can significantly increase speed, accuracy, reliability, and repeatability. They can also reduce the floorspace needed to perform a given process, enaling more efficient use of factory real-estate. The latest models are more affordable than ever. They are fast and compact and can be arranged to interact with traditional automation or to support processes performed by human workers. This makes them easy to deploy and use. But what can they really do? Which processes should be robotized first? How should the factory layout be reorganised to make way for them? And what about scalability? Today’s robots are available in sizes suitable for handling items from a few grams to several kilograms. Popular types include SCARA robots, cartesian, and single- or multi-axis robots that can be used in a standalone application dedicated to one process or as part of a group or assembly cell configured for a sequence of processes. From One Process to Many Companies are using these robots to accomplish a wide variety of automation projects. Yamaha has collaborated with customers and technology partners to solve industrial challenges through creative deployment of robots, achieving increased throughput and quality. With their generous movement range, high speed, and high accuracy, SCARA robots are an ideal vehicle to take on specific assembly processes. Yamaha YK-XG SCARA robots have been integrated in self-contained machines designed to perform one specific process, such as soldering (figure 1), screwing, or labelling. Figure 1. Yamaha’s YK-XG SCARA robot powers Reeco’s automated soldering machines. The SCARA is combined with conveyors, SMEMA electrical interfaces, and associated mechanisms to create a turnkey solution that industrial corporations can quickly install in their factory. the standardized SMEMA interfaces simplify connections to upstream and downstream automation, creating a fully inline solution. Alternatively, workpieces can be introduced manually or inserted using a feeder. These robot stations allow manufacturers to take a flexible, scalable approach to introduce robots in their factories. One by one, processes formerly done by hand, such as soldering connecting wires or through-hole components in circuit boards, tightening screws to a specific torque, and affixing labels can be automated to deliver greater speed, repeatability, and predictable tact times. Scaling up, two or more SCARA robots can be configured to cooperate and hence automate more complex assembly processes by combining their picking, placing, and positioning skills. Some examples in action today include assembling small automotive parts in high quantities and with high accuracy. Picking constituent parts from different pallets, checking each part using camera vision, and ensuring exact orientation using reference marks, the two robots finally hold the pieces together for soldering or spot-welding. Each assembled component is then palletised ready to be removed from the machine for final packing and shipping. These are just two examples showing how simple automation of a limited range of processes using low-cost SCARA robots can deliver rapid returns. However, bringing together a more diverse combination of robot types, including cartesian and single-axis or dual-axis robots, brings the opportunity to scale up from just one or two basic processes all the way to complete end-to-end assembly that fully automates production of items comprising multiple constituent parts. End-to-End Automation The Yamaha robot line up enables system integrators to build a complete assembly solution comprising the most suitable combination of individual robots. In a typical robot project, system integrators need to work out how to move components or work pieces from one machine to another using a belt-and-roller conveyor. Yamaha’s unique linear conveyor modules, such as the LCMR200 (figure 2), have changed everything by introducing multi-programmable transport that allows speed, position stops, and direction to be configured using RCX-Studio 2020: the same environment used to simulate, program, and operate all robots in the cell. Figure 2. The LCMR200 linear conveyor module brings programmable flexibility to workpiece transport. Capable of high-speed bidirectional motion and rapid acceleration, as well as small incremental movements, the LCMR features servo-controlled direct drive that eliminates the mechanical stoppers and position sensors typically needed to control a conventional conveyor. Each slider can be programmed and controlled independently, transforming the “passive flow” of an ordinary conveyor into actively controllable transport. With individual drives built-in, and controlled through Yamaha’s YHX series Universal Controller, transportation using LCMR modules can save about 65% of space behind the control panel and reduce wiring time by up to 50%. Using RCX-Studio 2020, workpiece transportation can be designed as an integral part of the robot solution, bringing valuable extra flexibility. Modules can be specified in various lengths, bringing the opportunity to optimize the layout of the assembly cell to maximize throughout and ensure the smallest possible overall dimensions. The LCMR200 provides extra convenience by allowing processes such as mechanical assembly or electrical testing to be performed on components while they remain on the transport module. Robot Selection and Programming From the outside, and even after an introductory demonstration, one robot can look very much like another. When choosing, it’s important to assess not only load-carrying capability, which is easy to compare using datasheets, but also other aspects of the design such as speed and cycle time, power consumption, and reliability. Yamaha’s position-detection system featured in YK-X series SCARA robots uses resolvers instead of typical encoders that can be affected by contamination such as grease or dust as well as magnetic or electrical fields. In addition, beltless drive featured on selected models ensures consistent long-term accuracy with no deterioration over time. Special models such as dust-proof and drip-proof variants are also available for use in environments such as clean rooms and food-preparation areas. Robot Vision, Simplified A simple, “unseeing” robot can handle a wide variety of industrial processes satisfactorily. However, introducing vision to the solution (figure 3) expands opportunities to tackle more complex processes, verify positional accuracy, and increase quality. Often, this is a complicated challenge that requires special machine-vision expertise to make the vision system talk to the robot controller. Yamaha brings vision into the robot programming and control environment with the iVY2+ vision system. The system includes camera modules up to 5Mpixel and camera-interface cards that are plug-in compatible with the RCX3 series robot controllers. There are also special vision instructions that simplify programming using RCX-Studio 2020 and enable high-speed component searching and tracking. Figure 3. Introducing vision increases performance and makes new applications possible. Simplifying the infusion of machine vision into the robot lets users take advantage of advanced capabilities such as blob detection, which enables picking, presence recognition, and high-speed counting when working with irregular shaped objects such as foodstuffs and clothing. The iVY2+ system also contains an image-edge search engine that enhances part detection under difficult lighting conditions. A wizard to help calibrate the system, and a simplified three-step process for workpiece registration that requires the user to select only image-capture, contour, and detection-position settings, eliminate laborious tasks and help users complete their setups as much as 80% faster than typical general-purpose vision systems. Conclusion Industrial robots are now more affordable and easier to deploy in manufacturing, packaging, and logistics activities than ever before. A wide variety of robot types such as SCARA, cartesian, and single- or multi-axis is available, in small sizes suitable for light duty, although few robot makers are able to provide all types off the shelf in a wide range of sizes. These extra choices let users more easily scale their systems and start with a small trial to test the results. With increasing confidence, more and more processes can be automated. With the added flexibility of Yamaha’s LCMR200 linear conveyor module, a complete automated assembly cell can be built within a small footprint and quickly fine-tuned using graphical programming software. When considering the introduction of robots to automate one or more processes, design features that affect reliability should be considered alongside key performance parameters such as the payload rating, speed, and power consumption. Ensuring scalability is also critical. Integrating robot vision can be more complex that it may seem, programming can be difficult, and interactions between the robot and camera can be slow. A solution that promises easier integration of more advanced capabilities can deliver superior cost of ownership in the longer term. ABOUT YAMAHA Robotics FA Section Yamaha Factory Automation Section (FA Section), a subdivision of Yamaha Motor Robotics Business Unit in Yamaha Motor Corporation, is focused on delivering flexible, high-accuracy industrial robots for precision automation challenges. With its roots in the introduction of robot technology to Yamaha motorcycle assembly activities, the division has over 40 years’ experience solving automation challenges from factory-scale to micron-level. Yamaha’s industrial robots are now trusted by leading corporations worldwide, in activities as diverse as semiconductor fabrication and assembling electronic products, domestic appliances, automotive components, and large liquid-crystal panels. Yamaha Motor FA Section offers a unified range of solutions for robotic assembly, including single-axis robots, SCARA, cartesian, and articulated robots. Innovations such as the LCM200R linear conveyor module; a smoother, space-saving and more versatile successor to conventional belt and roller conveyors continue to set the pace in factory automation. Core robotic technologies as well as key components and complete robot systems are all produced in-house, ensuring consistent quality and control over lead-times. Headquartered in Neuss, Germany, Yamaha FA Section serves customers in all Europe. https://fa.yamaha-motor-robotics.de/ #DiscoverYamahaRobotics
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22. February 2021Yamaha Motor Robotics FA Section, which provides advanced robots and associated expertise for diverse industrial assembly, parts-handling, and packaging applications, has held its 2021 annual distributor conference online, taking advantage of the chance to present diverse content and invite worldwide participation. The meeting opened with a welcome from the Netherlands by Yamaha Motor Europe’s CEO followed by live presentations from Japan including a new demonstration of the latest equipment capabilities.Yasushi Miyake, Branch Manager of Yamaha Motor Europe IM business said, “We have handled this year together strongly by supporting our customers and partners consistently and making our teamwork even more purposeful.” The demonstration highlighting advanced technical capabilities combined Yamaha’s latest YK-XG high-speed, compact SCARA robot and the new LCMR200 linear conveyor modules. The programmable modules deliver next-generation flexibility when transporting items between work processes, including bidirectional motion with software-configurable parameters that are easy to setup and fine-tune. Minimal hardware is needed, with the built-in motor driver and external YHX controller, enabling integrators to create compact and reliable solutions to automation challenges. A new working model, presented live from Japan, highlighted the speed and flexibility of Yamaha’s latest robots. Jumpei Ninomiya, Sales Manager for Yamaha’s FA Section, presented Yamaha’s award for Most Valuable Distributor to Renex. As Yamaha’s agent for Poland and the Balkans, Renex has delivered outstanding support including investing in training opportunities for partners. Renex’s management commented, “We are always committed to providing the utmost support for our customers and partners and will continue to respond with innovative solutions. It’s exciting and rewarding to share this journey with Yamaha.” Yamaha’s Jumpei Ninomiya presented Renex with the Most Valuable Distributor Award. ABOUT YAMAHA Robotics FA Section Yamaha Factory Automation Section (FA Section), a subdivision of Yamaha Motor Robotics Business Unit in Yamaha Motor Corporation, is focused on delivering flexible, high-accuracy industrial robots for precision automation challenges. With its roots in the introduction of robot technology to Yamaha motorcycle assembly activities, the division has over 40 years’ experience solving automation challenges from factory-scale to micron-level. Yamaha’s industrial robots are now trusted by leading corporations worldwide, in activities as diverse as semiconductor fabrication and assembling electronic products, domestic appliances, automotive components, and large liquid-crystal panels. Yamaha Motor FA Section offers a unified range of solutions for robotic assembly, including single-axis robots, SCARA, cartesian, and articulated robots. Innovations such as the LCM200R linear conveyor module; a smoother, space-saving and more versatile successor to conventional belt and roller conveyors continue to set the pace in factory automation. Core robotic technologies as well as key components and complete robot systems are all produced in-house, ensuring consistent quality and control over lead-times. Headquartered in Neuss, Germany, Yamaha FA Section serves customers in all Europe. https://fa.yamaha-motor-robotics.de/ #DiscoverYamahaRobotics
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2. November 2020Using a robot to dispense coating materials can significantly raise productivity, and is further enhanced by linking servo and dispenser control to ensure optimum speed and stable coating thickness The world’s manufacturers are more dependent than ever on high-speed automation to address today’s productivity challenges. However, raising output while maintaining quality is increasingly difficult using conventional automation. Increasing the speed of a process such as coating or dispensing can challenge accuracy and repeatability, demanding complicated fine-tuning to achieve the desired quality at the end of the line. Usually only a small number of skilled and experienced technicians are capable of setting up and maintaining such processes, which can slow the introduction of new products and leave assembly lines vulnerable to stoppages. High-Productivity, Precision Coating Yamaha Robotics’ experience working with customers in various industries such as automotive, electronics and medical fields, among others, offers some insights. Depositing sealant along the mating edges of metal castings or plastic components like covers and enclosures, prior to assembly, is a common requirement frequently addressed using conventional drives to coordinate linear movement and sealant dispensing. To deposit a continuous bead of sealant, the motion-control system must accurately follow a pre-determined path along straight edges and at corners. The speed must typically be reduced at corners to trace the desired locus accurately. On the other hand, raising the speed is desirable when moving along straight edges, to reduce the overall time to complete the process. To ensure a consistent volume of sealant is deposited in all locations, the dispensing mechanism must be controlled to throttle the flow of sealant in the slow-speed corners and increase delivery when the drive is moving more quickly. This is difficult to achieve, leaving companies dependent upon a small number of staff that have the necessary knowhow. If setup poorly, inconsistencies such as excessive sealant volume at corners can occur, ultimately leading to more rejected units at the end of the line. On the other hand, setting a constant slow drive speed and dispense rate can simplify control of the process, at the cost of longer tact time and lower overall throughput. Typically, manufacturers want to achieve both high quality and high speed without relying on specialised skills. This calls for a solution that can automatically adjust the sealant-dispense rate as the excursion speed changes, enabling the desired volume of material to be applied at the maximum possible speed that is appropriate at any position. Automating with Robots Various industries are now adopting robotic automation to increase productivity and ensure future-proof flexibility. Yamaha Robotics has additionally engineered ease of use into its RCX series of robot controllers and associated graphical programming tools, to help users maximise the advantages of this technology. The Yamaha RCX340 controller supports enhanced motion capabilities and simplifies robot dispenser setup. In particular, the dispensing-control function can be linked to servo control, enabling the RCX340 to control the dispense rate in conjunction with the moving speed to ensure high precision, high speed, and stable coating thickness. This “servo-linked dispensing” (figure 1) is applicable to Yamaha SCARA robots and cartesian robots. Figure 1; Yamaha enhanced servo-linked dispensing function with RCX340 controller In addition, the controller allows easy linking of multiple robots to be controlled simultaneously and supports an extended instruction set, which includes dedicated vision instructions that simplify programming and help minimise equipment startup time. The RCX STUDIO 2020 programming environment contains debugging functions that support multiple tasks and provides features to accelerate program input and enable rapid setup. Moreover, leveraging communication interfaces commonly used throughout industrial automation permits easy integration in an existing factory environment. In addition to RS-232C and Ethernet ports, the RCX340 supports popular fieldbuses such as CC-Link, EtherNet/IP™, DeviceNet™, PROFIBUS, PROFINET, and EtherCAT. Connections with general-purpose servo amplifier or third-party vision systems are also easily implemented and simplify introducing robot technology to legacy manufacturing processes. High-Speed Coating in Practice Yamaha Robotics recently helped a customer in the automotive sector to accelerate precision deposition of liquid sealants on aluminium castings using the RCX340 controller and Yamaha robots. This manufacturer had been unable to raise output by increasing the drive speed of the existing automatic dispense system. Simply increasing the speed had compromised control of the sealant dispensing, resulting in large clumps of sealant in positions where the drive speed was slower. This had forced the company to operate the equipment at constant speed, resulting in slower tact time. Figure 2. Manufacturers in the automotive sector need to combine high productivity with extremely high quality. Seeking a faster solution that would also be easy to setup without recourse to skilled technicians, the project-team leader contacted Yamaha to find out if robot technology could provide a practicable alternative. After seeing Yamaha’s demonstration of servo-linked dispensing, he quickly installed a test system at the factory to explore its potential. "It was clear to see that the production speed was increased and our analysis showed that the coating quality was perfect, too,” he comments, adding, “We also consulted Yamaha on the dispensing process, which we had previously setup using our own in-house experience. The additional expertise helped us calculate optimal settings extremely quickly, significantly reducing the workload on our own engineers.” Confident of achieving the desired increase in speed as well as stable quality, the project team moved forward to final verification and subsequently introduced the process on the assembly line. As soon as they completed their work, they began exploring opportunities to use Yamaha robots to improve other processes in the factory. Conclusion Manufacturers in automotive and other sectors need to adopt advanced automation to reduce cycle times and maintain quality, seeking to further increase productivity. Robots can meet these requirements when combined with the latest motion-control techniques as well as convenient tools to assist programming and setup. Ease of use is essential, to help users quickly introduce the new processes into their factory environment. About YAMAHA Robotics FA Section Yamaha Factory Automation Section (FA Section), a subdivision of Yamaha Motor Robotics Business Unit in Yamaha Motor Corporation, is focused on delivering flexible, high-accuracy industrial robots for precision automation challenges. With its roots in the introduction of robot technology to Yamaha motorcycle assembly activities, the division has over 40 years’ experience solving automation challenges from factory-scale to micron-level. Yamaha’s industrial robots are now trusted by leading corporations worldwide, in activities as diverse as semiconductor fabrication and assembling electronic products, domestic appliances, automotive components, and large liquid-crystal panels. Yamaha FA Section offers a unified range of solutions for robotic assembly, including single-axis robots, SCARA, cartesian, and articulated robots. Innovations such as the LCM100 linear conveyor module; a smoother, space-saving and more versatile successor to conventional belt and roller conveyors continue to set the pace in factory automation. Core robotic technologies as well as key components and complete robot systems are all produced in-house, ensuring consistent quality and control over lead-times. Headquartered in Hamamatsu, Yamaha FA Section serves customers globally through its worldwide sales network spanning China, Taiwan, Korea, south Asia, north America, Australia/New Zealand, and Europe. www.yamaha-motor-im.eu Contact info Oumayma Grad Marketing Communications Manager Hansemannstraße 12 41468 Neuss Germany Office: +49 2131 2013 538 Mobile: +49 1517 0233 297 Fax: +49 2131 2013 550 Email: oumayma.grad@yamaha-motor.de Web: www.yamaha-motor-im.eu
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19. October 2020A leading producer of automotive components quickly overcame its automation challenges by leveraging the speed and simplicity of Yamaha’s RCXiVY2+ dedicated robot vision system The automotive industry is a leading adopter of robot technology and continues to automate more and more processes. As OEMs and their suppliers strive for greater productivity and quality, introducing vision capability is a common requirement to enhance picking and precision placement or assembly of components. By increasing accuracy, vision can accelerate tact time, increase quality, and raise end of line yield. On the other hand, integrating a vision system is known to be time consuming and complex. Specialist technical skills are usually needed to handle tasks such as establishing communications between the various subsystems, calibrating the vision system, and registering workpiece data accurately. Engineering challenges like these can sometimes hold back the project and ultimately delay the start of production. Manufacturing the latest automotive components depends on effective robotic automation Need for Speed A manufacturer can lose ground to competitors if a business opportunity arises suddenly, and the necessary skills are not available to implement a suitable process. This was the prospect facing a leading automotive parts maker based in Japan, as the company sought to introduce new robotic automation with state-of-the-art vision to produce its latest products quickly and cost-effectively. A fast solution was needed, to stay ahead in the marketplace. However, the company’s most experienced in-house engineer with robot-vision knowhow was occupied elsewhere by another project. From previous experience, the production team knew that the system integration could take a lot longer than expected and could demand significant engineering resources. They also knew that getting support in the longer term could be a concern; determining whether the vision system or the robot is the cause of any problems, to be able to direct their service calls to the appropriate supplier, can be challenging. The team had to find a way to move quickly, to be able to introduce the vision system ready to start commercial production as soon as possible. It was at this time that the project’s leader learned of a solution offered by Yamaha Robotics’ Factory Automation Section. It showed features that make the Yamaha RCXiVY2+ robot vision system easy to integrate and setup as well as being fast and accurate. He quickly saw the system’s potential to help overcome the challenges in the factory. Robot Vision Made Simple RCXiVY2+ simplifies tasks that are notoriously complicated and time-consuming when integrating conventional machine vision as part of a robot system. These include robot control, image processing, lighting control, and processing of the conveyor-tracking data, which are all handled within the robot program and by incorporating a vision board, lighting board, and tracking board in the RCX3 series multi-axis robot controller. Interoperability with lighting and other peripherals such as grippers is assured. Because the vision is managed from the robot program, there is no need to create a coordinate-conversion routine. In addition, there is an intuitive wizard for calibrating the camera, and a graphical tool that reduces workpiece registration to three easy steps comprising image capture, contour setting, and registration of the detection position. Typical conventional vision systems are complex to setup and require several additional cables that take up space. A different GUI is often also used, to interact with the vision software. Yamaha’s RCXiVY2+ can integrate directly into the Yamaha Robot controller without any addiotinal cables and minimum space. With the vision programming commands also completely integrated, RCXiVY2+ enables a simple and compact but intelligent robot solution. The vision system is directly integrated into Yamaha’s robot controller RCXiVY2+ cameras can be mounted on the robot or in fixed positions Flexibility is provided to mount cameras in fixed positions above and/or below the workpiece, or on the robot itself. If mounted on the robot, the system automatically adjusts coordinates to correct for the effects of camera motion. Finally, a single cable provides power and data connections to the camera and a standard DVI-I output makes light work of connecting a monitor. Thanks to these features, users no longer need extensive training and experience to build an accurate, fully functioning robot-vision system. After everything is connected and powered-on for the first time, setting up can be completed in under 10 minutes. That’s about 80 percent faster than a conventional system. Furthermore, this plug-and-play simplicity comes without compromising performance: the latest-generation image-processing chip powering RCXiVY2 ensures up to 45% faster detection time than Yamaha’s preceding model. The RCXiVY2 system also features an innovative way of recognizing objects that is up to 10 times faster than the edge-detection approach traditionally employed in automated vision systems. This “blob-detection” technique applies threshold criteria to the camera’s greyscale images, taking into account variations in light and shade, and applies binary coded processing to convert to black and white gradations. This enhances picking, presence recognition, and high-speed counting of multiple workpieces. Blob detection is especially effective when the objects are irregular shapes such as foodstuffs and clothing, and hence expands the possible range of applications for robot vision. Blob detection with RCXiVY2+ enhances handling of irregular shaped items One-Stop Support While RCXiVY2+ is designed to be easy to setup, helping users implement high-performing robot vision extremely quickly, Yamaha also provides support including individual project advice as well as training for users new to the equipment. Moreover, customers get peace of mind knowing they only have one call to make if extra help is needed. Back on the factory floor in Japan, having quickly setup the RCXiVY2+ system, and leveraging the confidence that comes with knowing how to deal with any problems, Yamaha’s new customer looked forward to achieving its ambitious goals for business growth. About YAMAHA Robotics FA Section Yamaha Factory Automation Section (FA Section), a subdivision of Yamaha Motor Robotics Business Unit in Yamaha Motor Corporation, is focused on delivering flexible, high-accuracy industrial robots for precision automation challenges. With its roots in the introduction of robot technology to Yamaha motorcycle assembly activities, the division has over 40 years’ experience solving automation challenges from factory-scale to micron-level. Yamaha’s industrial robots are now trusted by leading corporations worldwide, in activities as diverse as semiconductor fabrication and assembling electronic products, domestic appliances, automotive components, and large liquid-crystal panels. Yamaha FA Section offers a unified range of solutions for robotic assembly, including single-axis robots, SCARA, cartesian, and articulated robots. Innovations such as the LCM100 linear conveyor module; a smoother, space-saving and more versatile successor to conventional belt and roller conveyors continue to set the pace in factory automation. Core robotic technologies as well as key components and complete robot systems are all produced in-house, ensuring consistent quality and control over lead-times. Headquartered in Hamamatsu, Yamaha FA Section serves customers globally through its worldwide sales network spanning China, Taiwan, Korea, south Asia, north America, Australia/New Zealand, and Europe. www.yamaha-motor-im.eu Contact info Oumayma Grad Marketing Communications Manager Hansemannstraße 12 41468 Neuss Germany Office: +49 2131 2013 538 Mobile: +49 1517 0233 297 Fax: +49 2131 2013 550 Email: oumayma.grad@yamaha-motor.de Web: www.yamaha-motor-im.eu
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21. September 2020Introducing robotic automation to an established workflow can appear complicated and expensive. With the latest modular technology and intuitive setup tools, companies can quickly and easily begin capturing the benefits, and scale and upgrade their systems as confidence grows Industrial processes are becoming increasingly reliant on automation to meet productivity targets, by ensuring consistent product quality and high throughput. A process can be fully automated, free of human intervention from end to end, or partially automated combining the strengths of human workers and machines. Imagine humans and machines cooperating in the same space, and many today will probably picture an array of multi-articulated collaborative robots (“cobots”) programmed to handle the repetitive or physically demanding tasks while their human co-workers provide the manual dexterity or creative inputs needed to complete the process. However, introducing cobots to a factory demands significant process re-optimisation and physical reorganisation of the workspace. Entry-Level Robotic Process Automation On the other hand, manufacturing businesses can begin to capture the benefits of robotic process automation in a simpler and less invasive way. Many production lines are staffed by human workers, performing processes on workpieces supplied by a conveyor belt (figure 1). Increasing the conveyor speed should feed the workpieces more quickly and enable increased productivity, but often this is not the case. Although the workers are physically able to keep pace with the faster transport, problems can occur as workpieces reach end-stops at higher speeds and can become displaced or even fall onto the floor. Productivity can be reduced as the result of increasing the conveyor speed. Robot technology can help overcome this problem. Linear robots can replace conventional conveyors and are easier to program, with digitally-defined start and stop locations with no need for mechanical end stops. Acceleration and deceleration happen smoothly within pre-defined distances, allowing fast transit speeds. Several of these modules can operate independently on the same production line to replace a single, unvarying, fixed-speed conveyor. This gives the flexibility to optimise transport speed in multiple zones along the line to suit the requirements of each process and balance the workflow. Figure 1. Linear robots can be introduced non-disruptively into established workflows. Moreover, the flexibility to move in forward and reverse directions opens new opportunities to achieve even greater efficiency. Yamaha has enabled several customers to take advantage of such benefits by integrating its LCMR200 robotic linear conveyor module (figure 2) into production lines. This model is fast, efficient and also less demanding of workflow reorganization than arranging multi-axis articulated cobots. Figure 2. This linear module replaces conventional conveyors, bringing robot speed and smoothness. This modular, linear robot can provide a convenient introduction to the potential for robot process automation, which can extend from simple replacement of a conveyor or indexing table to full end-to-end process automation in a guarded robot-assembly cell. When required to create a complete robotic automated process flow for building small products such as loudspeakers or automotive modules containing several constituent parts, solution integrators often need to combine robots of various types to perform all the individual assembly actions cost-effectively and in a space-efficient footprint. To assist, Yamaha has a uniquely comprehensive selection of industrial robots in all commonly used types from the modular LCMR200 and other single-axis robots to cartesian and SCARA robots. These give solution integrators all the options they need to create an efficient workflow even when factory floor-space is tight, while also taking into account important considerations such as maintainability, programmability, and ease of use. Scaling Up, Saving Space There are many space-saving aspects of Yamaha’s robot lineup, such as the ceiling-mounted orbit-type YK-TW series of SCARA robots that permit underpass motion allowing the tip to pass beneath the main unit (figure 3). Achieving a compact process footprint can be extremely important, for example to OEMs looking to “re-shore” or bring formerly outsourced processes back under in-house control. Although global economic changes can mean re-shoring makes financial sense, often the local factory has very little real-estate available to host the returning processes. Where every square centimetre is valuable, orbit-type SCARA robots have shown they can operate within incredibly tight spaces. With 350mm arm length and 5kg payload capacity, installation width of just 492mm can be achieved. The main strengths of SCARA robots lie in quickly retrieving and moving workpieces, and in performing assembly processes such as driving screws and accurately dispensing adhesives, sealants, or thermal-interface materials. Typical sizes of SCARA robots range from arm length of about 120mm with payload capacity of about 1kg, to 1200mm models capable of handling as much as 50kg. Yamaha’s YK-XG family introduces maintenance-free beltless drives that enable high-speed, high-precision movement in four axes. In addition, the moment of inertia is optimised to allow fast rotation of heavy objects, where conventional machines must reduce their speed resulting in longer tact times. Benefiting from long experience, rooted in early industrial robots created to automate high-volume assembly of motorcycle parts in the 1970s, Yamaha has been able to develop its robots to a high level of sophistication with innovative features such as the TRANSERVO that enables stepper motors to deliver both high speed and high torque. Other features that integrators value to help simplify solution-design challenges include low-maintenance lubrication and effective contaminant barriers, innovative high-rigidity mechanical parts that ensure superior accuracy even under high pressing forces, and widespread use of position resolvers which are more robust and reliable than traditional optical position detectors. With a variety of control systems to choose from, integrators can configure an affordable solution to satisfy the major automation challenge while also leaving the pathway clear for future adaptability and scaling. Simple control units for basic positioning and driving allow single-axis robots to be easily controlled with coordinate pointing or pulse-train input, to minimise programming. On the other hand, multi-axis controllers can be used to handle one or more single- or twin-access robots simultaneously. Up to four 4-axis controllers can be linked in master-slave configuration to manage as many as 16 axes and consolidate control in one program written in Yamaha’s robot language, which is an extended version of BASIC. Figure 3. Ceiling-mounted “underpass” robots utilise factory-floorspace efficiently. Upgrade with Confidence Success in a first automation project often encourages operators to scale or augment their systems for greater productivity or end-of-line quality. Introducing machine vision is a popular upgrade, although the technology typically demands specialised knowledge and traditional setup processes that can be complicated and time-consuming. Challenges commonly encountered include establishing communications between the vision system, the robot, and other subsystems such as tracking. Additional obstacles include calibrating the vision system and ensuring accurate registration of workpiece data. Yamaha set out to make robot vision easier when creating its RCXiVY2+ system. In a typical robot-vision system, the cameras are connected to a dedicated vision processor, which then communicates with the main system controller via a serial data link. In RCXiVY2+, the image processing, lighting control, and processing of the conveyor-tracking data are all handled within the robot program, using dedicated vision instructions created by Yamaha and added to the extended BASIC instruction set. The vision instruction set simplifies component search and tracking, and reduces search times by up to 50%. Faster search enhances part detection at high conveyor speeds, enabling improved pickup and lower tact times. With hardware including a vision board featuring a GigE camera interface, a lighting-control board, and tracking board all easily installed directly in the RCX3 series multi-axis robot controller, many integration issues are bypassed and compatibility with peripherals is assured. Also, because the vision is managed from the robot program, there is no need to create a coordinate-conversion routine. In addition, Yamaha’s integrated system boosts performance by eliminating the delays experienced with conventional vision as the camera data passes through a separate vision processor and then to the robot controller. To accelerate setting up the system, a simple calibration process aided by a wizard helps quickly align the camera coordinates, and a graphical tool reduces workpiece registration to three easy steps by assisting with image capture, contour setting, and registration of the detection position. Overall, the setup time is about 80 percent faster than with a conventional machine-vision system (figure 4). Figure 4. RCXiVY2+ helps users become productive more quickly When in action, a powerful image-edge search engine enhances part detection. The system can detect screws and washers that are securing parts, detect items in a package or on a printed-circuit board, check drilled holes, and count objets such as bottles in a pallet or electronic components. The camera’s DVI-I output lets users analyse the search status at any time and users can register up to 254 additional custom parts for automatic detection. RCXiVY2+ cameras can be mounted in fixed locations above and/or below the workpiece, or on the robot. When mounted on the robot, camera coordinates are automatically adjusted to correct for movement. The RCXiVY2+ system also introduces a new approach to image processing known as “blob detection”, which can recognize objects that are irregular shapes up to 10 times faster than traditional edge-detection methods. This enhances picking, presence recognition, and high-speed counting of multiple workpieces and is particularly effective with items such as foodstuffs and clothing, thereby expanding the possible range of applications for robot vision. The system can also recognize overlapped pieces and exclude these from the search target. Conclusion Conventional manual assembly processes, even when assisted by basic automation such as motorised conveyors, offers limited scope to increase throughput and productivity. Typical approaches to improving tact time can often have the opposite effect on productivity, while adding more workers and extra production lines adds to operating costs and demands more factory-floorspace. Beginning the journey into robotic process automation can be easy and non-disruptive if tackled in the right way, such as by replacing inflexible conveyors or space-hungry indexing tables with programmable linear robots. As confidence rows, automation can be extended to other processes and production lines, and upgrades such as machine vision can be added, delivering an ever-increasing return on investment. About YAMAHA Robotics FA Section Yamaha Factory Automation Section (FA Section), a subdivision of Yamaha Motor Robotics Business Unit in Yamaha Motor Corporation, is focused on delivering flexible, high-accuracy industrial robots for precision automation challenges. With its roots in the introduction of robot technology to Yamaha motorcycle assembly activities, the division has over 40 years’ experience solving automation challenges from factory-scale to micron-level. Yamaha’s industrial robots are now trusted by leading corporations worldwide, in activities as diverse as semiconductor fabrication and assembling electronic products, domestic appliances, automotive components, and large liquid-crystal panels. Yamaha FA Section offers a unified range of solutions for robotic assembly, including single-axis robots, SCARA, cartesian, and articulated robots. Innovations such as the LCM100 linear conveyor module; a smoother, space-saving and more versatile successor to conventional belt and roller conveyors continue to set the pace in factory automation. Core robotic technologies as well as key components and complete robot systems are all produced in-house, ensuring consistent quality and control over lead-times. Headquartered in Hamamatsu, Yamaha FA Section serves customers globally through its worldwide sales network spanning China, Taiwan, Korea, south Asia, north America, Australia/New Zealand, and Europe. www.yamaha-motor-im.eu Contact info Oumayma Grad Marketing Communications Manager Hansemannstraße 12 41468 Neuss Germany Office: +49 2131 2013 538 Mobile: +49 1517 0233 297 Fax: +49 2131 2013 550 Email: oumayma.grad@yamaha-motor.de Web: www.yamaha-motor-im.eu
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14. September 2020Etama brings synergistic product portfolio and strong presence in Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia to grow business for advanced automation Yamaha Motor Europe Factory Automation section, continuing to extend its European sales and support network, has confirmed that Etama is to distribute Yamaha industrial robots in Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. The agreement covers the full Yamaha range, which includes robots and programmable transport modules to automate diverse industrial processes including handling, packaging and light mechanical assembly. Advanced controllers, dedicated vision systems, graphical programming applications, and accessories such as grippers complete the lineup, which delivers flexibility and ease of use. “Etama brings a synergistic product portfolio and is trusted by high-tech enterprises throughout the Baltic region,” said Ryosuke Nakamura, Branch Manager of Yamaha Motor Europe IM business. “Our collaboration creates a strong platform for us to continue building our presence here.” “This is an exciting opportunity for us to solve new business challenges leveraging advanced and flexible automation,” said Mindaugas Palisaitis, Director of Etama. “The Yamaha robot portfolio offers excellent value for enterprises in numerous manufacturing and logistics activities, and we look forward to growing the range and diversity of our customer base.” Yamaha has a comprehensive range of SCARA, cartesian, multi-axis and single-axis robots, as well as unique programmable modular linear conveyors that deliver easy configuration and bidirectional flexibility. The robots cover a wide range of sizes, including the YK-X SCARA series with maximum payload from 1kg to 50kg, and incorporate innovative features that enhance reliability and tact time. Convenient flexibility, including easily integrated robot vision with Yamaha’s RCXiVY2+ system, lets users quickly adapt and scale their automation to address evolving challenges. Find out more with the current #DiscoverYamahaRobotics campaign, including technical information and special promotional offers on robots and software. About YAMAHA Robotics FA Section Yamaha Factory Automation Section (FA Section), a subdivision of Yamaha Motor Robotics Business Unit in Yamaha Motor Corporation, is focused on delivering flexible, high-accuracy industrial robots for precision automation challenges. With its roots in the introduction of robot technology to Yamaha motorcycle assembly activities, the division has over 40 years’ experience solving automation challenges from factory-scale to micron-level. Yamaha’s industrial robots are now trusted by leading corporations worldwide, in activities as diverse as semiconductor fabrication and assembling electronic products, domestic appliances, automotive components, and large liquid-crystal panels. Yamaha FA Section offers a unified range of solutions for robotic assembly, including single-axis robots, SCARA, cartesian, and articulated robots. Innovations such as the LCM100 linear conveyor module; a smoother, space-saving and more versatile successor to conventional belt and roller conveyors continue to set the pace in factory automation. Core robotic technologies as well as key components and complete robot systems are all produced in-house, ensuring consistent quality and control over lead-times. Headquartered in Hamamatsu, Yamaha FA Section serves customers globally through its worldwide sales network spanning China, Taiwan, Korea, south Asia, north America, Australia/New Zealand, and Europe. www.yamaha-motor-im.eu #DiscoverYamahaRobotics Contact info Oumayma Grad Marketing Communications Manager Hansemannstraße 12 41468 Neuss Germany Office: +49 2131 2013 538 Mobile: +49 1517 0233 297 Fax: +49 2131 2013 550 Email: oumayma.grad@yamaha-motor.de Web: www.yamaha-motor-im.eu
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7. September 2020RCX320/340 plugin integrates Asycube with SCARA and cartesian robots, sharpens pick-and-place flexibility with Yamaha RCXiVY2+ non-stop vision Yamaha Motor Europe Factory Automation section is giving customers extra power to boost the pick-and-place flexibility and productivity of their SCARA and cartesian robots by providing a free software plugin for the Asyril Asycube intelligent parts feeder. The software eases integration of Asycube and lets the intelligent feeder take advantage of Yamaha’s RCXiVY2+ high-speed, high-resolution vision system. Any Yamaha SCARA or cartesian robot compatible with the RCX320 or RCX340 controller can now rely on Asycube to quickly sort and orientate bulk components for easier, faster, pickup. The Asycube feeder intelligently adjusts vibration frequency, amplitude, and platter orientation to position the parts optimally, leveraging advanced 3-axis vibration technology. A standard Ethernet connection simplifies setup and scalability is assured by connecting multiple feeders via a switching hub. “The plugin software for Asycube easily integrates the Asyril Flexible Feeder with Yamaha’s fast and agile robots and efficient RCXiVY2+ vision system to bring further flexibility and increase productivity,” said Ryosuke Nakamura, Branch Manager of Yamaha Motor Europe Robotics Division. “Using the free plugin, our customers can quickly put this cutting-edge innovation to work in their factories.” The Yamaha RCXiVY2+ vision system maximises the advantages of Asycube with features such as non-stop vision that checks the pickup orientation on the fly. This system, developed using knowhow gained from high-speed surface-mount electronics assembly, increases productivity by up to 20%. Any gripping deviation is automatically corrected, allowing picked parts to be placed or assembled directly. The Asycube plugin is available to download for registered users of the Yamaha Robot Member website. The website also contains information to help select equipment and accessories such as actuators, tips on product design for robotic assembly, and help to setup, program, and maintain Yamaha industrial robots. For further information and to access the Robot Member site, please visit the Yamaha Motor Europe FA Section website at fa.yamaha-motor-im.de. About YAMAHA Robotics FA Section Yamaha Factory Automation Section (FA Section), a subdivision of Yamaha Motor Robotics Business Unit in Yamaha Motor Corporation, is focused on delivering flexible, high-accuracy industrial robots for precision automation challenges. With its roots in the introduction of robot technology to Yamaha motorcycle assembly activities, the division has over 40 years’ experience solving automation challenges from factory-scale to micron-level. Yamaha’s industrial robots are now trusted by leading corporations worldwide, in activities as diverse as semiconductor fabrication and assembling electronic products, domestic appliances, automotive components, and large liquid-crystal panels. Yamaha FA Section offers a unified range of solutions for robotic assembly, including single-axis robots, SCARA, cartesian, and articulated robots. Innovations such as the LCM100 linear conveyor module; a smoother, space-saving and more versatile successor to conventional belt and roller conveyors continue to set the pace in factory automation. Core robotic technologies as well as key components and complete robot systems are all produced in-house, ensuring consistent quality and control over lead-times. Headquartered in Hamamatsu, Yamaha FA Section serves customers globally through its worldwide sales network spanning China, Taiwan, Korea, south Asia, north America, Australia/New Zealand, and Europe. www.yamaha-motor-im.eu Contact info Oumayma Grad Marketing Communications Manager Hansemannstraße 12 41468 Neuss Germany Office: +49 2131 2013 538 Mobile: +49 1517 0233 297 Fax: +49 2131 2013 550 Email: oumayma.grad@yamaha-motor.de Web: www.yamaha-motor-im.eu
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8. June 2020Routeco market position, technical competencies and outstanding service infrastructure create ideal partner to boost UK presence Routeco’s office in Milton Keynes, UK Yamaha Motor Europe Factory Automation section has appointed Routeco to distribute the full Yamaha portfolio of industrial robots and associated controllers and accessories in the UK. Based in Milton Keynes, and with a network of local offices across the country, Routeco has over 40 years’ experience in the UK industrial automation sector. As a Technical Partner of choice it is trusted by major automation equipment brands and maintains a broad base of in-house technical expertise offering advice for automation and control products, software, and machine vision. “We have chosen to work with Routeco based on the company’s technical strength and strong service support network that comprehensively covers the UK,” said Ryosuke Nakamura, Branch Manager of Yamaha Motor Europe IM business. “This agreement strengthens our presence in this important territory and enables us to continue growing our customer base and increasing support for the local market.” Keith Harrison, Group Commercial Director, Routeco, commented, “The Yamaha portfolio allows us to deliver even more powerful solutions and great value to our clients, and fits perfectly with our skillset as the go-to partner for enterprises seeking to increase productivity by investing in advanced technologies.” Yamaha has a comprehensive range of SCARA, cartesian, multi-axis and single-axis robots including modular linear conveyors that bring unique flexibility and scalability to robotic assembly cells. The YK-X series of SCARA robots offers many configurations, arm length from 350mm to 1200mm, maximum payload up to 50kg, and special options including dust-proof, drip-proof, and clean-room variants. The dedicated control system, RCX340, simplifies bringing conveyor modules and Yamaha’s iVY2 vision system into the robot domain, enabling rapid system integration, easy maintenance, and future-proof flexibility. Current dynamic #DiscoverYamahaRobotics campaign includes special promotional offers on YK-X SCARA robots, a free trial of the powerful RCX-Studio programming software and unique Yamaha solutions and new products. About Routeco Since 1978 Routeco has successfully established itself as one of the UK's leading distributors of industrial automation and control products. Over an impressive period of sustained and continuous growth, Routeco has secured a nationwide network of sales locations employing over 250 personnel. The company has expanded by focusing on providing customers with the very best choice of products from leading manufacturers from around the world packaged together with a range of value-added services. A broad spectrum of industries depend upon Routeco’s unique commitment in providing a comprehensive quality service ranging from pharmaceutical and food processing to material handling and petrochemicals; from mining and metals, to utilities and textiles; from automotive and construction to machine tool and printing. Routeco offers the broadest range of value added services available and excel at working with customers in designing and supplying custom solutions to meet the unique needs of their market. About YAMAHA Robotics FA Section Yamaha Factory Automation Section (FA Section), a subdivision of Yamaha Motor Robotics Business Unit in Yamaha Motor Corporation, is focused on delivering flexible, high-accuracy industrial robots for precision automation challenges. With its roots in the introduction of robot technology to Yamaha motorcycle assembly activities, the division has over 40 years’ experience solving automation challenges from factory-scale to micron-level. Yamaha’s industrial robots are now trusted by leading corporations worldwide, in activities as diverse as semiconductor fabrication and assembling electronic products, domestic appliances, automotive components, and large liquid-crystal panels. Yamaha FA Section offers a unified range of solutions for robotic assembly, including single-axis robots, SCARA, cartesian, and articulated robots. Innovations such as the LCM100 linear conveyor module; a smoother, space-saving and more versatile successor to conventional belt and roller conveyors continue to set the pace in factory automation. Core robotic technologies as well as key components and complete robot systems are all produced in-house, ensuring consistent quality and control over lead-times. Headquartered in Hamamatsu, Yamaha FA Section serves customers globally through its worldwide sales network spanning China, Taiwan, Korea, south Asia, north America, Australia/New Zealand, and Europe. www.yamaha-motor-im.eu Contact info Oumayma Grad Marketing Communications Manager Hansemannstraße 12 41468 Neuss Germany Office: +49 2131 2013 538 Mobile: +49 1517 0233 297 Fax: +49 2131 2013 550 Email: oumayma.grad@yamaha-motor.de Web: www.yamaha-motor-im.eu
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2. June 2020Contributing to streamlining and improving quality at complex and diversified production sites for realizing next-generation factory Yamaha Motor Europe announced today that it will release the LCMR200, a new linear conveyor module on July 1. The structure of the current model LCM-X has undergone a major review in order to further improve ease of use. The LCMR200 inherits features from the current LCM-X model such as high accuracy and narrow pitch, but now with greatly improved rigidity through a complete reassessment of the module structure. The result is a more robust model that is better suited for work environments where intrusion of foreign matter and static noise are present. In addition, accuracy adjustments during setting up are easier thanks to the combination of a newly developed circulation unit. The system in which up to 64 sliders are controlled by one controller YHX is inherited from the current model LCM-X, but the newly developed Standard Profile program eliminates programming work inside the controller, and makes easier builds of automated equipment. Since commercializing the linear conveyor module for the first time in Japan in 2013, Yamaha Motor has continued to make improvements by listening to feedback from customers who work with production lines. With the new LCMR200 even easier to use, this unit will further contribute to higher process efficiency in factories and a wide range of industries around the world. Linear Conveyor Module LCMR200 Market Background and Product Outline Due to shortened product life cycles, the need for multi-product & variable-volume production is increasing at the Monozukuri (manufacturing) site, and therefore further flexibility and quick response capabilities are also required in the transfer process. Against this background, the linear conveyor module allows easier and more flexible line recomposition than conventional belt conveyors and roller conveyors, as well as high-speed and high-accuracy transfers. The LCMR200 is expected to be applied to a wide range of industries and its uptake seen at factories around the world. In 2013, we released the linear conveyor module LCM100 as the next-generation carrier. Since then, it has been a market leader with its implementation into the assembly processes of electrical / electronic parts and in-vehicle parts, which have relatively small-sized carriers. The newly developed LCMR200, while maintaining the conventional concept, now brings improved usability. From single axis to articulated robots, and linear conveyor applications, Yamaha Motor’s comprehensive lineup of products strongly support the automation of diversified production sites. The company continues to build on these strengths in the pursuit of greater efficiency and quality in increasingly complex and diverse production sites. LCMR200 Main Features 1) High-speed transfer, High-precision stop & Positioning The direct drive via its linear motor enables high-speed transfers, highly accurate stopping, and positioning. 2) Improved rigidity Almost the entire length of the module is installed directly on the frame to support the linear guide. The linear guide and the guide block of the slider have also been increased in size and strength, while keeping the same footprint. 3) Greater flexibility in layout The cable extraction direction can be selected from two directions, front and back, increasing the degree of freedom in electrical wiring and improving the area efficiency when constructing reciprocating lines. 4) Newly developed circulation unit with improved transit accuracy We have a newly developed circulation unit that greatly simplifies slider transfer accuracy adjustments. This has significantly improved the stability and durability of transit connections. 5) YHX controller equipped with new function Standard Profile By using the YHX controller standard profile, customers do not need to create ladder programs in the YHX controller. This also enables control of the LCMR200 and single-axis robot as a positioner from the upper PLC. Key Specifications Drive system Moving-magnet cored linear motor Maximum Payload 15 kg Maximum speed 2,500 mm/sec*1 Repeatable positioning accuracy ±5μm Machine difference between robot sliders ±30μm (dowel hole position basis) Position detection Magnetic absolute positioning sensor Maximum cross-section external dimensions W176 x H109 mm (including robot slider) Linear module length Select from 4 types of 200/300/500/1000 mm Robot slider length 198 mm Maximum stroke Approx. 25.5 m*2 Maximum number of robot sliders 64 units*2 Minimum pitch between robot sliders 210 mm*3 Controller YHX Series Power Supply DC 48 V*4 *1 If the payload is over 10kg, the maximum speed will stay until 2,000mm/sec. *2 Depends on system configuration *3 If the jig pallet mounted on the robot slider in longer, the pitch will be the jig pallet length + 10mm. *4 Requires separate power supply unit for YHX controller About YAMAHA Robotics FA Section Yamaha Factory Automation Section (FA Section), a subdivision of Yamaha Motor Robotics Business Unit in Yamaha Motor Corporation, is focused on delivering flexible, high-accuracy industrial robots for precision automation challenges. With its roots in the introduction of robot technology to Yamaha motorcycle assembly activities, the division has over 40 years’ experience solving automation challenges from factory-scale to micron-level. Yamaha’s industrial robots are now trusted by leading corporations worldwide, in activities as diverse as semiconductor fabrication and assembling electronic products, domestic appliances, automotive components, and large liquid-crystal panels. Yamaha FA Section offers a unified range of solutions for robotic assembly, including single-axis robots, SCARA, cartesian, and articulated robots. Innovations such as the LCM100 linear conveyor module; a smoother, space-saving and more versatile successor to conventional belt and roller conveyors continue to set the pace in factory automation. Core robotic technologies as well as key components and complete robot systems are all produced in-house, ensuring consistent quality and control over lead-times. Headquartered in Hamamatsu, Yamaha FA Section serves customers globally through its worldwide sales network spanning China, Taiwan, Korea, south Asia, north America, Australia/New Zealand, and Europe. www.yamaha-motor-im.eu Contact info Oumayma Grad Marketing Communications Manager Hansemannstraße 12 41468 Neuss Germany Office: +49 2131 2013 538 Mobile: +49 1517 0233 297 Fax: +49 2131 2013 550 Email: oumayma.grad@yamaha-motor.de Web: www.yamaha-motor-im.eu
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18. May 2020Content will be regularly refreshed with information. Yamaha Motor Europe Factory Automation section is launching #DiscoverYamahaRobotics on social channels and online, describing fast and affordable routes into advanced robotic automation for manufacturing, packaging, logistics, and more. Ryosuke Nakamura, Branch Manager of Yamaha Motor Europe Robotics, says, “Demand for advanced automated manufacturing is increasing relentlessly in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. Yamaha’s portfolio covers a total lineup of automated robot products that perfectly matches the needs of small-scale assembly and manufacturing. Thanks to this campaign, everyone can discover Yamaha robotics for a taste of the possibilities, and to find out how to take the next step.” Yamaha’s unique strength lies in providing a total line solution including a selection of ultra-reliable SCARA robots, optional integrated vision, XY robots, single-axis robots, and robot emulator software. In addition, linear transfer conveyor modules assembled on multiple sliders provide greater flexibility and reliability than conventional belt-driven transfer processes. Realizing full digital manufacturing with this innovative linear transfer robot and inline assembly robots enables enterprises to increase productivity and accelerate business transformation. The #DiscoverYamahaRobotics campaign will refresh throughout the year, with updated content and new offers for followers. One of its Highlights include special prices for the Yamaha YK-400XE and recently launched YK610XE high-speed SCARA robots. Furthermore, there is also a free trial to experience the RCX-Studio graphical programming environment, which contains powerful tools to help setup and coordinate all the machines in a line or assembly cell. Upgrades to Yamaha’s LCM100 linear conveyor module and iVY2 robot-vision system will break cover on #DiscoverYamahaRobotics as the campaign continues. The LCM100 and iVY2 are both designed to connect directly to the RCX340 robot controller, ensuring easy integration, flexible control, and lag-free performance. Dedicated vision instructions for the iVY2 system allow fast and efficient native control without the complexity of a conventional machine-vision interface. The #DiscoverYamahaRobotics campaign is live now, featuring dynamic content to highlight key ranges and preview forthcoming new products. Visitors can connect through digital advertising, social platforms, and learn more at fa.yamaha-motor-im.de/yamaha-robotics/ About YAMAHA Robotics FA Section Yamaha Factory Automation Section (FA Section), a subdivision of Yamaha Motor Robotics Business Unit in Yamaha Motor Corporation, is focused on delivering flexible, high-accuracy industrial robots for precision automation challenges. With its roots in the introduction of robot technology to Yamaha motorcycle assembly activities, the division has over 40 years’ experience solving automation challenges from factory-scale to micron-level. Yamaha’s industrial robots are now trusted by leading corporations worldwide, in activities as diverse as semiconductor fabrication and assembling electronic products, domestic appliances, automotive components, and large liquid-crystal panels. Yamaha FA Section offers a unified range of solutions for robotic assembly, including single-axis robots, SCARA, cartesian, and articulated robots. Innovations such as the LCM100 linear conveyor module; a smoother, space-saving and more versatile successor to conventional belt and roller conveyors continue to set the pace in factory automation. Core robotic technologies as well as key components and complete robot systems are all produced in-house, ensuring consistent quality and control over lead-times. Headquartered in Hamamatsu, Yamaha FA Section serves customers globally through its worldwide sales network spanning China, Taiwan, Korea, south Asia, north America, Australia/New Zealand, and Europe. www.yamaha-motor-im.eu #DiscoverYamahaRobotics Contact info Oumayma Grad Marketing Communications Manager Hansemannstraße 12 41468 Neuss Germany Office: +49 2131 2013 538 Mobile: +49 1517 0233 297 Fax: +49 2131 2013 550 Email: oumayma.grad@yamaha-motor.de Web: www.yamaha-motor-im.eu
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14. May 2020Capable of Detecting Irregular Shaped Objects; also Applicable to Food, Pharmaceuticals, Cosmetics, and Clothing Yamaha Motor Europe announced today that it will launch the RCXiVY2+ vision system, which features a new “blob detection” enabling picking, presence recognition, and high-speed counting of multiple workpieces for irregular shaped objects such as foodstuffs and clothing, on June 1. As the successor to the existing iVY2, in addition to new functionality this new model features a high-performance camera and improved processing capability, enabling up to 45% detection time reduction compared to the current model. A feature of Yamaha Motor’s vision system is its integration with robots by incorporating a vision board, lighting board, and tracking board in the RCX3 series multi-axis robot controller. This advanced integration enables unitary management of robot control, image processing, lighting control, and conveyor tracking data processing with only the robot program, significantly reducing equipment setup time. The further addition of “blob detection” functionality means that the system can now handle products such as foodstuffs and clothing - which tend to have greater variation in shape and size compared to industrial products - expanding its possible range of applications. RCX340 Controller and RCXiVY2+ Handles Irregurlar Shaped Products such as Foodstuffs and Clothing Market Background The industrial robot market continues to grow due to the declining labor force and rising wages driving requirements for increased factory automation. In addition to the automotive, electrical, and electronics industries, in recent years the utilization of industrial robots has also been increasing in industries such as foodstuffs, clothing, and cosmetics. In response, Yamaha Motor has developed vision systems optimized for detection of irregular shaped objects, which are characteristic of industries such as foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals, clothing, and cosmetics. New Functions of the RCXiVY2+ Blob detection which excels in recognizing irregular shaped objectsThe word “blob” evokes the image of an amorphous lump or mass. Blob detection functions take greyscale images (including variations in light and shade) captured by cameras, and apply certain threshold value criteria, converting them to black and white gradations through binary coded processing. This detection method can then recognize the presence/absence, number, size, etc. of blobs. The RCXiVY2+’s blob detection can recognize workpieces between two and ten times faster than in the edge detection functions of previous models. This upgrade means that the new model can handle tasks such as picking, presence recognition, and high-speed counting of multiple workpieces of irregular shaped objects such as foodstuffs and clothing. The combination of the RCXiVY2+ and SCARA robots is ideal for high-speed conveyor tracking. Performance improvementThe search speed has been improved by 8 to 45% because of the improvement of CPU. In addition, the adoption of a high-performance camera has improved the number of pixels and frame rate. Other Features Simple auto-calibration functionHigh-precision camera calibration can be completed simply by following the easy-to-use wizard. Simple workpiece registration functionWorkpiece registration takes just three steps - image capture, contour setting, and detection position registration. Integrated control of the vision program using only the robot programThere is no need to create a coordinate conversion program thanks to unified management from the robot program. Also handles moving camerasCoordinates can be automatically converted to suit a robot's movements when a camera is installed on the robot. Wide range of product registration is possible254 product types can be registered for use in detection, meaning that changeover work can be carried out simply by changing the product number. Monitoring of detection status while robots are running in automatic modeWith the RCXiVY2+ Studio and an external monitor, monitoring of detection status while robots are running in automatic mode as well as reference mark detection status during calibration setting are possible. Specifications Basic Specifications Compatible controllers RCX340/RCX320 No. of pixels 728(H) x 544(V) (400,000 pixels) 1,456(H) x 1,088(V) (1.6 megapixels) 2,048(H) x 1,536(V) (3.2 megapixels) 2,592(H) x 1,944(V) (5 megapixels) Number of set product types 254 product types No. of connected cameras Max. 2 Camera connections GigE camera PoE: Up to IEEE802.3af 1ch 7W External interface Ethernet (1000BASE-T) *Used for settings and monitor External monitor output DVI-I *Analog monitors can also be used via a conversion adaptor Monitor resolution: 1024x768 Vertical period frequency: 60Hz Horizontal period frequency: 48.4kHz Power supply DC 24V ±10 % 1.5 A Max Exterior dimensions W45mm x H19mm5 x D130mm (RCXiVY2+ unit only) Weight 0.8Kg (RCXiVY2+ unit only, when lighting control option is selected) Detection method Edge detection (Correlative edge filter, Sobel filter) Measurement function, blob detection Image capture Trigger mode Software trigger, hardware trigger External trigger inputs 2 Functions Position detection, coordinate conversion, automatic point data creation, distortion and tilt correction Camera installation positions Set to either fixed cameras (above and below) or robots (Y, Z axes) Vertical direction with regard to workpieces being photographed is recommended Included assistance functions Calibration, image saving function, product type registration, reference mark registration, measurement function registration, blob registration, monitor function Lighting control option No. of connected lighting units Max. 2 Light modulation method PWM modulation control (0-100%) PWM frequency 62.5kHz/125kHz switchable Continuous light, strobe light (tracks camera exposure) Lighting power input DC 12V or DC 24V (2ch common, external supply) Lighting output For DC 12V supply: 2ch, total less than 40W For DC 24V supply: 2ch, total less than 80W About YAMAHA Robotics FA Section Yamaha Factory Automation Section (FA Section), a subdivision of Yamaha Motor Robotics Business Unit in Yamaha Motor Corporation, is focused on delivering flexible, high-accuracy industrial robots for precision automation challenges. With its roots in the introduction of robot technology to Yamaha motorcycle assembly activities, the division has over 40 years’ experience solving automation challenges from factory-scale to micron-level. Yamaha’s industrial robots are now trusted by leading corporations worldwide, in activities as diverse as semiconductor fabrication and assembling electronic products, domestic appliances, automotive components, and large liquid-crystal panels. Yamaha FA Section offers a unified range of solutions for robotic assembly, including single-axis robots, SCARA, cartesian, and articulated robots. Innovations such as the LCM100 linear conveyor module; a smoother, space-saving and more versatile successor to conventional belt and roller conveyors continue to set the pace in factory automation. Core robotic technologies as well as key components and complete robot systems are all produced in-house, ensuring consistent quality and control over lead-times. Headquartered in Hamamatsu, Yamaha FA Section serves customers globally through its worldwide sales network spanning China, Taiwan, Korea, south Asia, north America, Australia/New Zealand, and Europe. www.yamaha-motor-im.eu Contact info Oumayma Grad Marketing Communications Manager Hansemannstraße 12 41468 Neuss Germany Office: +49 2131 2013 538 Mobile: +49 1517 0233 297 Fax: +49 2131 2013 550 Email: oumayma.grad@yamaha-motor.de Web: www.yamaha-motor-im.eu
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14. May 2020New Functions Significantly Reduce Robot System Setup Time Yamaha Motor Europe announced today that it will launch the RCX-Studio 2020 support software for the RCX3 Series of robot controllers on May 14, 2020. This new product adds new functions such as a 3D simulator and program templates (automatic sample generation) to the existing RCX-Studio Pro software, and also features usability enhancements.
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9. April 2020Yamaha YK610XE-10 Expanding the lineup of productivity-boosting YK-XE series Yamaha Motor Europe announced today that it will add the YK610XE-10 (610mm arm length) and YK710XE-10 (710mm arm length) models to the YK-XE Series of SCARA robots. Launching on April 16, the two new models build on the high speed and efficiency of the current YK-XE Series. Both models deliver high performance, with 10kg maximum payload and standard cycle time of 0.39 seconds (YK610XE-10) or 0.42 seconds (YK710XE-10), delivering increased productivity. In addition, the accessible pricing for these models helps users raise manufacturing performance and increase profitability. Together with the YK400XE-4 (400mm arm length) launched last year, the YK-XE Series now includes three models. The expanded product lineup also covers a broader range of applications, encompassing not only assembly, conveyance, and sorting etc. of small components such as in smartphones and PCs, but also of large components such as in home appliances and automobiles. Yamaha Motor has more than 40 years’ history in SCARA robots, since the first was installed in one of our factories in 1976. Since then, we have expanded our product lineup, which now features industry-leading product variations. The great diversity of alternatives we provide means that customers can choose the models which best suit their particular requirements, optimizing their production facilities while also working to reduce their capital expenditure. Model Launch Date YK610XE-10 SCARA Robot April 16, 2020 YK710XE-10 SCARA Robot Contact info Oumayma Grad Marketing Communications Manager Hansemannstraße 12 41468 Neuss Germany Office: +49 2131 2013 538 Mobile: +49 1517 0233 297 Fax: +49 2131 2013 550 Email: oumayma.grad@yamaha-motor.de Web: www.yamaha-motor-im.eu YK610XE-10 and YK710XE-10 SCARA Robot Basic Specifications YK610XE-10 YK710XE-10 Axis Specifications X Axis Arm Length 335mm 435mm Rotation Angle ±134° ±134° Y Axis Arm Length 275mm Rotation Angle ±152° Z Axis Stroke 200mm R Axis Rotation Angle ±360° Motor Output AC X Axis 400W 400W Y Axis 200W 200W Z Axis 200W 200W R Axis 200W 200W Maximum Speed X-Y Axis Synthesis 8.6m/sec 9.5m/sec Z Axis 2m/sec R Axis 2,600°/sec Repeatability1 X and Y Axes ±0.01mm ±0.02mm Z Axis ±0.01mm R Axis ±0.01° Maximum Payload 10kg (Standard Specifications) Standard Cycle Time: With 2kg Load2 0.39 sec 0.42sec R Axis Allowable Inertia3 0.3kgm² User Wiring 0.2sq x 20 Wires User Piping (Outer Diameter) φ6 x 3 Pipes Motion Limit Settings 1. Soft limit 2. Mechanical stopper (X, Y, Z Axes) Robot Cable Length Standard: 3.5m (Optional: 5m, 10m) Weight 25kg 26kg Applicable Controller RCX340 1: alues under constant ambient temperature (X, Y axes)2: When reciprocating 300mm horizontally and 25mm vertically with rough positioning in an arch motion3: The inertia must be input in the actual usage environment Specifications and appearance are subject to change without prior notice. For further information please visit the Yamaha Motor Europe FA Section website at fa.yamaha-motor-im.de. About YAMAHA Robotics FA Section Yamaha Factory Automation Section (FA Section), a subdivision of Yamaha Motor Robotics Business Unit in Yamaha Motor Corporation, is focused on delivering flexible, high-accuracy industrial robots for precision automation challenges. With its roots in the introduction of robot technology to Yamaha motorcycle assembly activities, the division has over 40 years’ experience solving automation challenges from factory-scale to micron-level. Yamaha’s industrial robots are now trusted by leading corporations worldwide, in activities as diverse as semiconductor fabrication and assembling electronic products, domestic appliances, automotive components, and large liquid-crystal panels. Yamaha FA Section offers a unified range of solutions for robotic assembly, including single-axis robots, SCARA, cartesian, and articulated robots. Innovations such as the LCM100 linear conveyor module; a smoother, space-saving and more versatile successor to conventional belt and roller conveyors continue to set the pace in factory automation. Core robotic technologies as well as key components and complete robot systems are all produced in-house, ensuring consistent quality and control over lead-times. Headquartered in Hamamatsu, Yamaha FA Section serves customers globally through its worldwide sales network spanning China, Taiwan, Korea, south Asia, north America, Australia/New Zealand, and Europe. www.yamaha-motor-im.eu
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2. April 2020SCARA robots can automate and accelerate pick-and-place and small assembly processes such as transferring workpieces between processes, screwdriving, and
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20. February 2020Booth G25, Hall 6 to host the latest in high-speed motion, vision systems, and programming tools
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18. February 2020Factory Automation Section distributor meeting reviews achievements and sets new goals
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17. February 2020Yamaha Motor Europe Robotics division establishes Customer Service & Support Function for FA SectionWith factory-backed maintenance, repair, and upgrade, Yamaha Motor delivers full lifecycle support for growing customer base Yamaha Motor Europe FA Section has opened a new Customer Service & Support function to provide expert support for customers throughout the European region. Based at the Yamaha Motor Europe headquarters in Neuss, Germany, the Customer Service & Support is ready to work with system integrators and end users to provide factory-backed maintenance, repair, and upgrade services for deployed applications. “We started FA Section to bring Yamaha robot technology to Europe and in a short time have helped many companies in diverse industry sectors transform processes such as materials handling, production assembly, and packaging,” said Mr. Ryosuke Nakamura, General Manager of Yamaha Motor Europe FA Section. “The new service engineering department now augments our solution-engineering capabilities to provide full lifecycle support for our growing customer base.” The FA Section Service Engineer Department is active from February 2020 and ready to book customer-service appointments. For further information please visit the Yamaha Motor Europe FA Section website at https://www.yamaha-motor-im.de/en/fa/. About YAMAHA Robotics FA Section Yamaha Factory Automation Section (FA Section), a subdivision of Yamaha Motor Robotics Business Unit in Yamaha Motor Corporation, is focused on delivering flexible, high-accuracy industrial robots for precision automation challenges. With its roots in the introduction of robot technology to Yamaha motorcycle assembly activities, the division has over 40 years’ experience solving automation challenges from factory-scale to micron-level. Yamaha’s industrial robots are now trusted by leading corporations worldwide, in activities as diverse as semiconductor fabrication and assembling electronic products, domestic appliances, automotive components, and large liquid-crystal panels. Yamaha FA Section offers a unified range of solutions for robotic assembly, including single-axis robots, SCARA, cartesian, and articulated robots. Innovations such as the LCM100 linear conveyor module; a smoother, space-saving and more versatile successor to conventional belt and roller conveyors continue to set the pace in factory automation. Core robotic technologies as well as key components and complete robot systems are all produced in-house, ensuring consistent quality and control over lead-times. Headquartered in Hamamatsu, Yamaha FA Section serves customers globally through its worldwide sales network spanning China, Taiwan, Korea, south Asia, north America, Australia/New Zealand, and Europe. www.yamaha-motor-im.eu Contact info Oumayma Grad Marketing Communications Manager Hansemannstraße 12 41468 Neuss Germany Office: +49 2131 2013 538 Mobile: +49 1517 0233 297 Fax: +49 2131 2013 550 Email: oumayma.grad@yamaha-motor.de Web: www.yamaha-motor-im.eu
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17. October 2019Unique LCM100 flexible, scalable conveyor module and innovative robot and machine-vision features simplify integration, maximise performance and efficiency Yamaha Motor Europe Factory Automation Division has showed how the latest robotic systems enable businesses to raise productivity, throughput and quality in key manufacturing processes, in demonstrations presented at Motek 2019 in Stuttgart, October 7-10. Mr. Ryosuke Nakamura, Branch Manager Yamaha Motor Europe IM Business, commented, “We were privileged to entertain influential visitors from across Europe’s manufacturing communities and to demonstrate Yamaha’s innovative and compelling solutions to maximise the advantages of robotic process automation.” Visitors to the booth saw for themselves how the Yamaha range contains cartesian, SCARA, single-axis, and multi-axis robots in a variety of sizes to bring robot efficiencies to important industrial processes. Five demonstrations showcased special design features that increase speed, simplify setup, and maximise productivity: Yamaha’s unique LCM100 linear conveyor module is a scalable solution to workpiece transportation. Programmable speed, stop positions, and direction ensure smooth, high-speed motion without needing external sensors or mechanical stops. The flexibility of bidirectional movement enables efficient workflows free from duplicated processes. The LCM100’s rigid guides allow working directly on the module without unloading the workpiece, further reducing tact time. Also on the booth, Yamaha’s YK400XE SCARA robot draws on Yamaha’s 35 years’ experience with SCARA robots, the YK400XE features many state-of-the-art technologies that maximise reliability, minimise downtime, and ensure high capabilities and accuracy with maximum payload of 4kg and maximum standard cycle time of 0.41 seconds. A conveyor-tracking demonstration using a SCARA robot showed how unique features of Yamaha’s iVY2 camera and RCX340 controller simplify setting up and programming of machine vision, to save time and reduce reliance on specialist skills. Dedicated vision instructions consolidate signal processing on the RCX340, lowering hardware costs and significantly increasing system performance. SCARA and cartesian robots, both made by Yamaha, demonstrated applying sealants to automotive parts, working together to maximise utilisation of the sealant dispenser resulting in faster cycle time and increased productivity. The fifth demonstration showed how the RCX340 multi-axis controller maximises high-volume pick-and-place efficiency. Leveraging Yamaha’s on-the-fly vision knowhow, proven in high-speed electronic surface-mount assembly, the RCX340 can perform recognition, position correction, and parts loading continuously without stopping the robot motion. For more information please visit Yamaha’s website at https://www.yamaha-motor-im.de/en/fa/. Yamaha introduced the latest advances in automation to technical experts and decision makers from across Europe at Motek 2019. The Yamaha LCM100 delivers smooth and flexible transport, and allows proesses to be performed directly on the module without unloading About YAMAHA Robotics FA Section Yamaha Factory Automation Section (FA Section), a subdivision of Yamaha Motor Robotics Business Unit in Yamaha Motor Corporation, is focused on delivering flexible, high-accuracy industrial robots for precision automation challenges. With its roots in the introduction of robot technology to Yamaha motorcycle assembly activities, the division has over 40 years’ experience solving automation challenges from factory-scale to micron-level. Yamaha’s industrial robots are now trusted by leading corporations worldwide, in activities as diverse as semiconductor fabrication and assembling electronic products, domestic appliances, automotive components, and large liquid-crystal panels. Yamaha FA Section offers a unified range of solutions for robotic assembly, including single-axis robots, SCARA, cartesian, and articulated robots. Innovations such as the LCM100 linear conveyor module; a smoother, space-saving and more versatile successor to conventional belt and roller conveyors continue to set the pace in factory automation. Core robotic technologies as well as key components and complete robot systems are all produced in-house, ensuring consistent quality and control over lead-times. Headquartered in Hamamatsu, Yamaha FA Section serves customers globally through its worldwide sales network spanning China, Taiwan, Korea, south Asia, north America, Australia/New Zealand, and Europe. www.yamaha-motor-im.eu Contact info Oumayma Grad Marketing Communications Manager Hansemannstraße 12 41468 Neuss Germany Office: +49 2131 2013 538 Mobile: +49 1517 0233 297 Fax: +49 2131 2013 550 Email: oumayma.grad@yamaha-motor.de Web: www.yamaha-motor-im.eu
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19. September 2019New iVY2 imaging system leverages dedicated vision instructions of RCX340 multi-robot controllerYamaha Factory Automation Section has introduced next-generation vision for its uniquely flexible range of SCARA, cartesian, orbital, single-, and multi-axis robots. The latest iVY2 system, hosted on Yamaha’s state-of-the-art RCX340 robot controller, simplifies setup, accelerates performance and, for the first time, brings vision into the overall robot-control program for ease of use and efficiency.iVY2 supports up to 5Mpixel cameras to allow high-resolution imaging for fast and stable workpiece detection. In addition, wizard-assisted auto-calibration and easy three-step workpiece registration eliminate laborious setup tasks. Users can complete setups up to 80% faster than typical general-purpose vision systems.Further powerful features of the iVY2 vision system include an image-edge search engine that enhances part detection under difficult lighting conditions, and a DVI-I output that enables users to analyse search status at any time including during calibration or when the robot is operating automatically. There is also support for extra part types, with capacity to register up to 254 parts.Compatibility with the RCX340 controller enables iVY2 to leverage dedicated vision instructions that simplify programming and accelerate component search and tracking, in conjunction with the optional RCX340 tracking board. Search time is reduced by up to 50%, which allows iVY2 to detect large numbers of conveyorized parts at high speed and thus enhance robot pickup.iVY2 comes with the iVY2 Studio graphical configuration and monitoring environment and Yamaha support services including preliminary vision-application assessment, equipment-selection advice, and training. A wide variety of equipment options is available, including CCD and CMOS cameras, standard and megapixel lenses, cables, and a dedicated lighting-control board and accessories.For further information please visit the Yamaha Motor Europe FA Section website at https://www.yamaha-motor-im.de/en/fa/. The Yamaha iVY2 system connects directly to the advanced RCX340 robot controller Yamaha iVY2 vision enhances robot speed, precision, and efficiency About YAMAHA Robotics FA Section Yamaha Factory Automation Section (FA Section), a subdivision of Yamaha Motor Robotics Business Unit in Yamaha Motor Corporation, is focused on delivering flexible, high-accuracy industrial robots for precision automation challenges. With its roots in the introduction of robot technology to Yamaha motorcycle assembly activities, the division has over 40 years’ experience solving automation challenges from factory-scale to micron-level. Yamaha’s industrial robots are now trusted by leading corporations worldwide, in activities as diverse as semiconductor fabrication and assembling electronic products, domestic appliances, automotive components, and large liquid-crystal panels. Yamaha FA Section offers a unified range of solutions for robotic assembly, including single-axis robots, SCARA, cartesian, and articulated robots. Innovations such as the LCM100 linear conveyor module; a smoother, space-saving and more versatile successor to conventional belt and roller conveyors continue to set the pace in factory automation. Core robotic technologies as well as key components and complete robot systems are all produced in-house, ensuring consistent quality and control over lead-times. Headquartered in Hamamatsu, Yamaha FA Section serves customers globally through its worldwide sales network spanning China, Taiwan, Korea, south Asia, north America, Australia/New Zealand, and Europe. www.yamaha-motor-im.eu Contact info Oumayma Grad Marketing Communications Manager Hansemannstraße 12 41468 Neuss Germany Office: +49 2131 2013 538 Mobile: +49 1517 0233 297 Fax: +49 2131 2013 550 Email: oumayma.grad@yamaha-motor.de Web: www.yamaha-motor-im.eu
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11. September 2019Increase of the payload and reduction of the cycle time are achieved. Yamaha Motor Europe FA Section will release new SCARA robot “YK400 XE” (with an arm length of 400 mm) on September 17, 2019. This “YK400XE” is a successor model of the conventional model “YK400XR” that features high accuracy and high performance even at a less expensive price. The maximum payload is 4 kg that is 1.4 times larger than the conventional model and the standard cycle time is reduced approx. 10% to achieve 0.41 sec. by strengthening the drive system and arm, increasing the rigidity, and improving the performance of the controller “RCX340”. As a result, the production capacity is much improved. Even when the maximum payload is increased and the operating performance is improved, the high cost performance is achieved. In addition, as the installation position is fully compatible with the conventional model, the replacement work can be performed easily. This product will be exhibited at Yamaha’s booth 7328 in hall 7 at Motek Show 2019 from 7th – 10th October 2019 in Stuttgart, Germany. For more information please visit Yamaha’s website at https://www.yamaha-motor-im.de/en/fa/. Yamaha SCARA robot “YK400XE” About YAMAHA Robotics FA Section Yamaha Factory Automation Section (FA Section), a subdivision of Yamaha Motor Robotics Business Unit in Yamaha Motor Corporation, is focused on delivering flexible, high-accuracy industrial robots for precision automation challenges. With its roots in the introduction of robot technology to Yamaha motorcycle assembly activities, the division has over 40 years’ experience solving automation challenges from factory-scale to micron-level. Yamaha’s industrial robots are now trusted by leading corporations worldwide, in activities as diverse as semiconductor fabrication and assembling electronic products, domestic appliances, automotive components, and large liquid-crystal panels. Yamaha FA Section offers a unified range of solutions for robotic assembly, including single-axis robots, SCARA, cartesian, and articulated robots. Innovations such as the LCM100 linear conveyor module; a smoother, space-saving and more versatile successor to conventional belt and roller conveyors continue to set the pace in factory automation. Core robotic technologies as well as key components and complete robot systems are all produced in-house, ensuring consistent quality and control over lead-times. Headquartered in Hamamatsu, Yamaha FA Section serves customers globally through its worldwide sales network spanning China, Taiwan, Korea, south Asia, north America, Australia/New Zealand, and Europe. www.yamaha-motor-im.eu Contact info Oumayma Grad Marketing Communications Manager Hansemannstraße 12 41468 Neuss Germany Office: +49 2131 2013 538 Mobile: +49 1517 0233 297 Fax: +49 2131 2013 550 Email: oumayma.grad@yamaha-motor.de Web: www.yamaha-motor-im.eu
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23. August 2019Booth to feature broad portfolio of solutions to simplify and streamline process automationYamaha Motor Europe Factory Automation Section will demonstrate technologies to accelerate robotic processes, including on-the-fly visual inspection and alignment, at Motek in Stuttgart, 7-10 October 2019.Yamaha’s on-the-fly vision draws on technologies perfected in precision surface-mount electronics assembly to inspect and align picked parts at full speed, greatly reducing tact time of processes like palletizing, de-palletizing, and mechanical assembly. The demonstration will run on the competitively priced YK-400XR SCARA robot and contrast the high-speed system with conventional vision to highlight the potential time savings and productivity advantages.Visitors to the booth, no. 7328 hall 7, can find out more about the linear, multi-axis, cartesian, and SCARA robots from Yamaha, available in many sizes and configurations including special cleanroom variants. Together, they create a unique single-vendor opportunity to simplify and streamline system integration. The complete portfolio includes drivers and controllers including the advanced RCX340, the unique LCM100 programmable linear conveyor module, iVY plug-and-play vision systems, and accessories including electric grippers and high-megapixel cameras with flexible lens options.Yamaha specialists based at the company’s European office in Neuss, Germany will be available throughout the fair to discuss everything from first assessment to programming and maintaining robotic automation for all types of applications in manufacturing, packaging, logistics, and more.For more information please visit Yamaha’s website at https://www.yamaha-motor-im.de/en/fa/. Yamaha Pic. 1: Yamaha’s on-the-fly vision boosts speed and efficiency Yamaha Pic. 2: The affordable YK400XR for cost-conscious robotic automation About YAMAHA Robotics FA Section Yamaha Factory Automation Section (FA Section), a subdivision of Yamaha Motor Robotics Business Unit in Yamaha Motor Corporation, is focused on delivering flexible, high-accuracy industrial robots for precision automation challenges. With its roots in the introduction of robot technology to Yamaha motorcycle assembly activities, the division has over 40 years’ experience solving automation challenges from factory-scale to micron-level. Yamaha’s industrial robots are now trusted by leading corporations worldwide, in activities as diverse as semiconductor fabrication and assembling electronic products, domestic appliances, automotive components, and large liquid-crystal panels. Yamaha FA Section offers a unified range of solutions for robotic assembly, including single-axis robots, SCARA, cartesian, and articulated robots. Innovations such as the LCM100 linear conveyor module; a smoother, space-saving and more versatile successor to conventional belt and roller conveyors continue to set the pace in factory automation. Core robotic technologies as well as key components and complete robot systems are all produced in-house, ensuring consistent quality and control over lead-times. Headquartered in Hamamatsu, Yamaha FA Section serves customers globally through its worldwide sales network spanning China, Taiwan, Korea, south Asia, north America, Australia/New Zealand, and Europe. www.yamaha-motor-im.eu Contact info Oumayma Grad Marketing Communications Manager Hansemannstraße 12 41468 Neuss Germany Office: +49 2131 2013 538 Mobile: +49 1517 0233 297 Fax: +49 2131 2013 550 Email: oumayma.grad@yamaha-motor.de Web: www.yamaha-motor-im.eu
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4. July 2019Wider size and payload ranges, leveraging innovative features, maximise opportunities to automateYamaha Motor Europe Factory Automation Section, the only producer of robots in all commonly used industrial form factors for end-to-end robotic process automation, continues to extend its SCARA family. Available arm lengths now range from just 120mm to 1200mm, and maximum payload from 1kg to 50kg, to accelerate a wide variety of pick and place, packaging/de-packaging, and mechanical assembly tasks.The YK-XG and YK-TW orbital SCARA series contain advanced features that ensure efficient movement and superior long-term accuracy. By placing the tip-rotation axis directly in line with the speed-reducing gear, leveraging a specially designed hollow motor, the YK-XG beltless drive allows fast R-axis rotation with large offset loads that require traditional belt-driven robots to decelerate. The latest models feature 45% faster X-Y axis speed than previous generations, now reaching 7.6m/s, 35% greater angular speed up to 2.3m/s, and 93% higher R-axis speed at 1700°/s.With magnetic position resolvers, instead of optical encoders traditionally used in other industrial SCARA ranges, Yamaha’s SCARA robots benefit from higher noise immunity and boost reliability by eliminating the effects of contamination such as dust or grease that exist in industrial environments. There are also design features that simplify maintenance to maximise uptime for greater productivity.The versatile range offers many options for system integrators, including YK-XGP dust-proof and drip-proof models that can resist environmental contaminants, YK-XGC clean-room robots, YK-XGS wall-mount and inverse configurations, and the YK-XR series for cost-sensitive applications.For more information about Yamaha’s SCARA, and cartesian, single-axis, multi-axis robots and unique linear modular conveyer for superior industrial automation, please visit Yamaha’s website at https://www.yamaha-motor-im.de/en/fa/. About YAMAHA Robotics FA Section Yamaha Factory Automation Section (FA Section), a subdivision of Yamaha Motor Robotics Business Unit in Yamaha Motor Corporation, is focused on delivering flexible, high-accuracy industrial robots for precision automation challenges. With its roots in the introduction of robot technology to Yamaha motorcycle assembly activities, the division has over 40 years’ experience solving automation challenges from factory-scale to micron-level. Yamaha’s industrial robots are now trusted by leading corporations worldwide, in activities as diverse as semiconductor fabrication and assembling electronic products, domestic appliances, automotive components, and large liquid-crystal panels. Yamaha FA Section offers a unified range of solutions for robotic assembly, including single-axis robots, SCARA, cartesian, and articulated robots. Innovations such as the LCM100 linear conveyor module; a smoother, space-saving and more versatile successor to conventional belt and roller conveyors continue to set the pace in factory automation. Core robotic technologies as well as key components and complete robot systems are all produced in-house, ensuring consistent quality and control over lead-times. Headquartered in Hamamatsu, Yamaha FA Section serves customers globally through its worldwide sales network spanning China, Taiwan, Korea, south Asia, north America, Australia/New Zealand, and Europe. www.yamaha-motor-im.eu Contact info Oumayma Grad Marketing Communications Manager Hansemannstraße 12 41468 Neuss Germany Office: +49 2131 2013 538 Mobile: +49 1517 0233 297 Fax: +49 2131 2013 550 Email: oumayma.grad@yamaha-motor.de Web: www.yamaha-motor-im.eu
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18. June 2019European sales and distributor partners talk business and witness the action at Barcelona MotoGPYamaha Factory Automation Section (FA Section) combined its business focus in robotics with the excitement of MotoGP at the annual distributor meeting in Barcelona during the MotoGP race weekend, June 14-15. All the company’s European robot sales and distributor partners gathered from across Europe to talk technology and strategy – and to see Yamaha’s racing heroes in action.The group got down to business immediately on Saturday, as leaders from Yamaha FA Section presented the latest state-of-the-art innovations rolling out to take the company forward. Yamaha is the only industrial robot producer to offer standard products in all formats – SCARA, cartesian, linear, single- and multi-axis robots, and with the added advantage of the unique programmable robotic LCM100 conveyor module.Individual meetings in the afternoon let distributors present their plans and discuss the support they need for the coming year. “The time is right for significant investment in robot technology across industries from precision assembly and high-speed manufacturing to packaging and logistics, driving productivity to the next level,” said Mr. Ichiro Arimoto, Yamaha Motor Europe Robotic Division General Manager. “We continue to strengthen support for our distributor partners here in Europe, to deliver the most advanced, flexible, and efficient solutions for customers.”Sunday took the delegates to the Circuit de Catalunya, with complementary tickets to see all the action at the track; a fitting “thank you” from the company behind MOTOBOT, the robotic-control testbed that has raced against top Yamaha MotoGP star Valentino Rossi and continues to come ever-closer to the nine-time world champion’s lap times — demonstrating the rapid progress Yamaha continues to achieve in this fast-moving field of automation. About YAMAHA Robotics FA Section Yamaha Factory Automation Section (FA Section), a subdivision of Yamaha Motor Robotics Business Unit in Yamaha Motor Corporation, is focused on delivering flexible, high-accuracy industrial robots for precision automation challenges. With its roots in the introduction of robot technology to Yamaha motorcycle assembly activities, the division has over 40 years’ experience solving automation challenges from factory-scale to micron-level. Yamaha’s industrial robots are now trusted by leading corporations worldwide, in activities as diverse as semiconductor fabrication and assembling electronic products, domestic appliances, automotive components, and large liquid-crystal panels. Yamaha FA Section offers a unified range of solutions for robotic assembly, including single-axis robots, SCARA, cartesian, and articulated robots. Innovations such as the LCM100 linear conveyor module; a smoother, space-saving and more versatile successor to conventional belt and roller conveyors continue to set the pace in factory automation. Core robotic technologies as well as key components and complete robot systems are all produced in-house, ensuring consistent quality and control over lead-times. Headquartered in Hamamatsu, Yamaha FA Section serves customers globally through its worldwide sales network spanning China, Taiwan, Korea, south Asia, north America, Australia/New Zealand, and Europe. www.yamaha-motor-im.eu Contact info Oumayma Grad Marketing Communications Manager Hansemannstraße 12 41468 Neuss Germany Office: +49 2131 2013 538 Mobile: +49 1517 0233 297 Fax: +49 2131 2013 550 Email: oumayma.grad@yamaha-motor.de Web: www.yamaha-motor-im.eu Yamaha’s MOTOBOT expresses the synergy between the company’s advanced robot technology and commitment to continually improving performance.
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4. June 2019Flexible LCM100 linear conveyor module boosts efficiency over conventional belt-and-roller transfer The LCM100 linear conveyor module, a unique solution for robotic assembly by Yamaha Factory Automation Section, enables cleaner, quieter, and more flexible workpiece transport. By simplifying production startup, reducing cycle times, and increasing accuracy, the modules boost productivity and yield, while also cutting noise, increasing reliability, and reducing the size of robot assembly cells. Unlike conventional belt-and roller conveyors, each LCM100 module contains an independently controlled high-speed linear motor that enables bidirectional movement and programmable speed up to 3000mm/second. Production lines can be configured optimally, not dependent on the longest process cycle time, and utilize inline equipment more efficiently to save space and capital expenditure. Further benefits of the linear drives include low friction and lag-free acceleration and deceleration. The robust and stable sliders, combined with positioning accuracy better than ± 0.015mm, allow assembly tasks to be performed directly on the module. With no need to de-palletise and move workpieces from a conventional conveyor to a work-table, tact time can be faster and assembly cells smaller and more cost-effective. Without physical microswitches or end stops, slider stop positions can be quickly and easily reprogrammed in software. In addition, LCM100 modules are featured for easy interchangeability and reconfiguration, enabling assembly cells to be setup quickly and cost-effectively, especially for short production runs. Modules can also be removed or replaced easily to minimise downtime, and reused in other assembly cells to maximise utilisation. The modules are available in standard 480mm and 640mm lengths and carry 15kg maximum payload. A 400mm circulation module is also available. About YAMAHA Robotics FA Section Yamaha Factory Automation Section (FA Section), a subdivision of Yamaha Motor Robotics Business Unit in Yamaha Motor Corporation, is focused on delivering flexible, high-accuracy industrial robots for precision automation challenges. With its roots in the introduction of robot technology to Yamaha motorcycle assembly activities, the division has over 40 years’ experience solving automation challenges from factory-scale to micron-level. Yamaha’s industrial robots are now trusted by leading corporations worldwide, in activities as diverse as semiconductor fabrication and assembling electronic products, domestic appliances, automotive components, and large liquid-crystal panels. Yamaha FA Section offers a unified range of solutions for robotic assembly, including single-axis robots, SCARA, cartesian, and articulated robots. Innovations such as the LCM100 linear conveyor module; a smoother, space-saving and more versatile successor to conventional belt and roller conveyors continue to set the pace in factory automation. Core robotic technologies as well as key components and complete robot systems are all produced in-house, ensuring consistent quality and control over lead-times. Headquartered in Hamamatsu, Yamaha FA Section serves customers globally through its worldwide sales network spanning China, Taiwan, Korea, south Asia, north America, Australia/New Zealand, and Europe. www.yamaha-motor-im.eu Contact info Oumayma Grad Marketing Communications Manager Hansemannstraße 12 41468 Neuss Germany Office: +49 2131 2013 538 Mobile: +49 1517 0233 297 Fax: +49 2131 2013 550 Email: oumayma.grad@yamaha-motor.de Web: www.yamaha-motor-im.eu
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22. May 2019Lightweight cobots dominated at Hanover Messe this April. While they offer a tantalising vision for our industrial future, many automation challenges are solved more efficiently by coordinated high-speed robots working together in a fully integrated assembly cell. Yamaha’s Factory Automation Section is the only robot manufacturer offering a portfolio that includes all commonly used industrial robot types; cartesian, SCARA, single-axis, and multi-axis articulated robots. The wide range of machines, controllers, programming software, and accessories available enables solution integrators to automate entire assembly sequences, benefiting from convenient one-stop technical support and a common environment for programming and control. The lineup contains machine sizes for payloads from 5kg to 50kg, with special options including high-speed pick-and-place robots, dust-/drip-proof, and clean-room models. Features such as contamination-resistant position resolvers and innovative vector-control drives ensure superior speed and reliability. In addition, Yamaha’s unique LCM100 robotic linear conveyor module overcomes the restrictions of conventional belt-and-roller transport by enabling bidirectional flexibility, independent module speed control, and easy reprogramming. Flexible controller options ensure speed and simplicity, with machine vision fully integrated under robot control using Yamaha’s dedicated vision instructions for easy setup and instantaneous response. Eliminating the interface lag that typically slows communication with a conventional independent vision system allows faster excursion speeds for improved tact time. To achieve the most efficient solution to your automation challenges in the real world today, contact Yamaha FA Section office in Neuss. To find out more and get in touch with Yamaha FA Section European sales managers please visit www.yamaha-motor-im.eu. About YAMAHA Robotics FA Section Yamaha Factory Automation Section (FA Section), a subdivision of Yamaha Motor Robotics Business Unit in Yamaha Motor Corporation, is focused on delivering flexible, high-accuracy industrial robots for precision automation challenges. With its roots in the introduction of robot technology to Yamaha motorcycle assembly activities, the division has over 40 years’ experience solving automation challenges from factory-scale to micron-level. Yamaha’s industrial robots are now trusted by leading corporations worldwide, in activities as diverse as semiconductor fabrication and assembling electronic products, domestic appliances, automotive components, and large liquid-crystal panels. Yamaha FA Section offers a unified range of solutions for robotic assembly, including single-axis robots, SCARA, cartesian, and articulated robots. Innovations such as the LCM100 linear conveyor module; a smoother, space-saving and more versatile successor to conventional belt and roller conveyors continue to set the pace in factory automation. Core robotic technologies as well as key components and complete robot systems are all produced in-house, ensuring consistent quality and control over lead-times. Headquartered in Hamamatsu, Yamaha FA Section serves customers globally through its worldwide sales network spanning China, Taiwan, Korea, south Asia, north America, Australia/New Zealand, and Europe. www.yamaha-motor-im.eu Contact info Oumayma Grad Marketing Communications Manager Hansemannstraße 12 41468 Neuss Germany Office: +49 2131 2013 538 Mobile: +49 1517 0233 297 Fax: +49 2131 2013 550 Email: oumayma.grad@yamaha-motor.de Web: www.yamaha-motor-im.eu
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11. April 2019The new support office, part of Yamaha Motor Europe N.V in Neuss, Dusseldorf, Germany, is strategically located to connect with Yamaha’s agents and distributors throughout Europe. The network comprises partners with long expertise in industrial robotics, who are currently serving a rapidly growing customer base to facilitate an easier access to more extensive services direct from Yamaha. “The time is right to increase support for our European partners as leading corporations are increasing robot deployments as a mainstay of digital transformation,” said Ichiro Arimoto. “Yamaha Factory Automation Section offers a unified product range, world-class support, and the assurances that come with in-house production and R&D that let industrial communities engage confidently with robots and derive maximum competitive advantage.” The latest generations of robots, leveraging advanced control techniques infused with machine-learning artificial intelligence (AI), are driving fast-paced productivity growth and represent a key enabler for Industry 4.0 and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). Drawing on over 40 years of experience rooted in the introduction of robot technology for assembling Yamaha motorcycles, the Yamaha FA Section creates cutting-edge articulated robots and continuously improves traditional industrial types such as cartesian, SCARA, and single-axis robots for state-of-the-art performance and flexibility. The portfolio of standard products streamlines access to advanced robotics solutions that are faster, quieter, more responsive, more precise, and more space-efficient than traditional automation. A comprehensive range of advanced controllers, accessories such as grippers, and customization services, is also available. About YAMAHA Robotics FA Section Yamaha Factory Automation Section (FA Section), a subdivision of Yamaha Motor Robotics Business Unit in Yamaha Motor Corporation, is focused on delivering flexible, high-accuracy industrial robots for precision automation challenges. With its roots in the introduction of robot technology to Yamaha motorcycle assembly activities, the division has over 40 years’ experience solving automation challenges from factory-scale to micron-level. Yamaha’s industrial robots are now trusted by leading corporations worldwide, in activities as diverse as semiconductor fabrication and assembling electronic products, domestic appliances, automotive components, and large liquid-crystal panels. Yamaha FA Section offers a unified range of solutions for robotic assembly, including single-axis robots, SCARA, cartesian, and articulated robots. Innovations such as the LCM100 linear conveyor module; a smoother, space-saving and more versatile successor to conventional belt and roller conveyors continue to set the pace in factory automation. Core robotic technologies as well as key components and complete robot systems are all produced in-house, ensuring consistent quality and control over lead-times. Headquartered in Hamamatsu, Yamaha FA Section serves customers globally through its worldwide sales network spanning China, Taiwan, Korea, south Asia, north America, Australia/New Zealand, and Europe. www.yamaha-motor-im.eu Contact info Oumayma Grad Marketing Communications Manager Hansemannstraße 12 41468 Neuss Germany Office: +49 2131 2013 538 Mobile: +49 1517 0233 297 Fax: +49 2131 2013 550 Email: oumayma.grad@yamaha-motor.de Web: www.yamaha-motor-im.eu
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4. March 2019WATA, March 4, 2019—Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. (Tokyo:7272) announced today that it will exhibit a booth based on the theme of “YAMAHA ROBOT BEST SOLUTION – Improved Production Line Performance,” at the HANNOVER MESSE 2019, a B to B industrial technology trade show to be held in Hannover, Germany, from Monday, April 1 to Friday, April 5, 2019. The HANNOVER MESSE is the world’s leading industrial trade fair, at which leading-edge industrial technology and products are gathered in one place. (The 2018 event saw exhibits held by approx. 6,500 companies attracting around 220,000 visitors). The booth has increased space to about twice that of last year where it will showcase demonstrations such as the “Linear Conveyor Module LCM 100,” a linear motor-based transport robot, and a SCARA robot which boasts high speed and high accuracy. These exhibits work toward greater productivity and improved variability on production lines, providing best solutions for factory automation. Yamaha Motor: Exhibitions and Demonstrations 1) Speaker assembly demonstration using the LCM 100 transport robotLinear Conveyor Module LCM100The LCM 100 can transport workpieces at high speed and can be assembled directly on the slider, so that the transfer time is shortened considerably. In addition, with linear motor control, it is possible to change the stop position and process similar operations, bringing greater production line designs with higher levels of variability. 2) On-the-fly Function Demonstration (non-stop recognition camera)Robot Integrated Vision System “iVY 2” & Multi-Axis Controller “RCX 340”Our exhibition will introduce a function that can shorten pick and place tact times with position correction after test piece handling. With the robot-integrated vision system “iVY2,” through the multi-axis controller “RCX 340” capable of synchronous operation with multiple stand robots, recognition, correction and mounting can be performed without stopping robot operation, working to help improving throughput significantly. Contact info Oumayma Grad Marketing Communications Manager Hansemannstraße 12 41468 Neuss Germany Office: +49 2131 2013 538 Mobile: +49 1517 0233 297 Fax: +49 2131 2013 550 Email: oumayma.grad@yamaha-motor.de Web: www.yamaha-motor-im.eu 3) Auto parts sealing demonstrationSCARA robot “YK 400 XR” & Cartesian RobotsWith the SCARA robot “YK 400 XR” boasting a standard cycle time of 0.45 seconds, the dual lane assembled cartesian robot greatly shortens the cycle time of the coating process.For test pieces on cartesian robots with two lanes, one carries out coating, while the other replaces the test piece using a SCARA robot. As a result, the work ratio of the dispenser is improved which significantly increases productivity. European Industrial Robot Market Overview (Total welding, painting/coating, actuator, assembly, conveyance, and clean conveyance system) The industrial robot market in Europe continues to grow due to the declining labor force, rising wages, increased factory automation and quality improvement needs. History of Yamaha Motor Industrial Robots 1974 : Yamaha Motor begins research and development into industrial robots in order to streamline production and increase machining precision in its own motorcycle factories 1976 : SCARA robots introduced to Yamaha Motor motorcycle production lines 1984 : IM Business Unit established (Yamaha Motor Hamakita Plant) / SCARA robot sales begin 1991 : IM Technology Center completion (Sodecho, Hamamatsu city, Shizuoka Prefecture) 2006 : IM Technology Center and factory expansion 2013 : China (Suzhou City) sales office established Linear Conveyor Module LCM100 is launched 2016 : Integrated control robot system “Advanced Robotics Automation Platform”is launched Launch of Linear Conveyor Module “LCM-X”, and Single-axis robot “GX Series” Launch of Stepping Motor Electric Actuator “YLE series,” and integrated Controller “YHX Series” 2017 : New Robotics Business building begins operation 2018 : First exhibition at HANNOVER MESSE 2018 Opening of the Yamaha Motor Advanced Technology Center (Yokohama) Yamaha Motor’s lineup of products to powerfully support the automation of production sites is wide-ranging in variation. YMC builds on these strengths to pursue greater efficiency and quality in increasingly complex, diverse, and high-speed production sites. About YAMAHA Robotics FA Section Yamaha Factory Automation Section (FA Section), a subdivision of Yamaha Motor Robotics Business Unit in Yamaha Motor Corporation, is focused on delivering flexible, high-accuracy industrial robots for precision automation challenges. With its roots in the introduction of robot technology to Yamaha motorcycle assembly activities, the division has over 40 years’ experience solving automation challenges from factory-scale to micron-level. Yamaha’s industrial robots are now trusted by leading corporations worldwide, in activities as diverse as semiconductor fabrication and assembling electronic products, domestic appliances, automotive components, and large liquid-crystal panels. Yamaha FA Section offers a unified range of solutions for robotic assembly, including single-axis robots, SCARA, cartesian, and articulated robots. Innovations such as the LCM100 linear conveyor module; a smoother, space-saving and more versatile successor to conventional belt and roller conveyors continue to set the pace in factory automation. Core robotic technologies as well as key components and complete robot systems are all produced in-house, ensuring consistent quality and control over lead-times. Headquartered in Hamamatsu, Yamaha FA Section serves customers globally through its worldwide sales network spanning China, Taiwan, Korea, south Asia, north America, Australia/New Zealand, and Europe. www.yamaha-motor-im.eu
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18. June 2018Yamaha Motor Europe Robotics Division – SMT section Richard Vereijssen B.Sc – Product Marketing manager Introduction: Miniaturization, Driven By Demand The global electronics industry’s ability to deliver seemingly limitless ongoing advancements in product capabilities has encouraged an insatiable consumer demand for more, better, and smaller. Demands for high functionality of mobile devices, smart watches, military, medical, audio, and wearable technology continue to drive requirements for miniaturisation. The advancements being achieved in large-scale CMOS integration, described by Moore’s Law, are among several factors currently aiding relentless gains in functionality, performance and miniaturisation. The fabrication and packaging processes for manufacturing chip-size resistors and capacitors also continue to advance, enabling components to be produced down to sizes in the region of 0.25mm x 0.15mm (0201). Excellent dimensional stability enables these components to be assembled using standard inline surface-mount equipment. Initially, the tiniest components (not only 0201: adoption of 01005 will begin in the foreseeable future) are expected to be used in extremely space-constrained applications, such as System in Package (SiP) or Package in Package (PiP) devices. These answer demands for extreme miniaturisation and circuit densification in mobile devices, like smartphones and tablets. Ultimately, of course, they will be demanded for general surface-mount assembly in PC motherboards, industrial automation products, IoT nodes and gateways, and others. Automotive electronics is another sector that demands increasing circuit capability and complexity, where small size and lightness are key desires of product designers. 1. Progression of Chip-Component Sizes Continuous advancements, both in manufacturing capabilities and market demand for smaller or more feature-rich end products, has driven relentless miniaturisation of component sizes generally, manifested in the emergence of semiconductor packages like flip-chip and CSP, power-discrete packages like LGA, and surface-mount chip resistors and capacitors in ever-smaller form factors: as figure 1 shows, the 1005 (1.0mm x 0.5mm) form factor has been the most widely used since the mid 2000s to date, while more recently an increasing number of designs have targeted the smaller 0603 (0.6mm x 0.3mm) size; sometimes even when design space is not a concern. The popularity of 0402 (0.4mm x 0.2mm) devices is currently rising, while 0201 devices are expected to supersede the older 1608 (1.6mm x 0.8mm) form factor around the year 2022. Figure 1. The 0201mm form factor for chip components is expected to become dominant by 2022. The table compares metric and imperial component designations, with their applicable sizes. Confusion abounds, particularly where designations clash - such as 0603, 0402 and 0201. As the drive continues to explore further miniaturisation, it will be preferred to standardise on metric nomenclature going forward as an aid to communication and to avoid confusion when referencing components. Table 1. Comparison of metric and imperial designations for standard chip components. Note that only chip resistors – not capacitors – have been offered to the market in the 03015 form factor. Moreover, two different "0201" outlines have been proposed by various manufacturers: 0.2mm × 0.1mm and 0.25mm × 0.125mm. The industry needs a single commonly accepted standard and, indeed, 0.25mm × 0.125mm is expected to become the accepted specification. The shock and awe comes when comparing the area and volume of the later, smaller form factors with their predecessors like 1005. The area of an 0201 component, when mounted on the substrate, is 0.0313mm2: only 6% of the area occupied by a 1005-size chip. Moreover, the volume of a 0201 capacitor – typical height 0.125mm - is 0.004mm3, or just 1.6% of the volume of the 1005 parts. 0201 resistors are even lower volume, having thickness of 0.08mm. The first major deployments of 0201 devices are expected to be in highly integrated package-in-package assemblies, aiming to achieve further circuit-size reductions in products such as smartphones, tablets, and IoT devices. This paper discusses board design, as well as printing, mounting, and inspection processes for assembling 0201 devices, as the next major challenge for product designers, OEMs and EMS businesses. All need to understand how these components can be adopted in surface-mount assembly processes, achieving the accuracy and repeatability needed to ensure high end of line yield for commercial viability. This calls for an evaluation of the key issues affecting the performance of printing, component mounting, and inspection processes. The presentation, configuration and materials for tape and reel, at the smaller component sizes, are still being developed. Paper tape is inefficient, in terms of parts per linear millimetre. Although 0201 parts today are usually packaged in W4P1 (4mm width, 1mm pitch) embossed tape, the narrow tape width is difficult to handle, and W4P1 feeders are expensive. A W8P0.5 specification has been proposed. 2. Board Design Developing an assembly process for any product begins with the PCB design as the foundation for the project; in particular, the pad sizes and positions, and distances to adjacent components. Previous experience shows that the relationship between the pad size and the aperture size has an important influence on paste release. When the copper is etched, the resulting pad can become slightly smaller than the designed aperture of the stencil. If this happens the paste at the edge of the aperture cannot touch the pad and instead is suspended in the gap between the pad and the stencil. As a result, the paste at the edge of the aperture may fail to release when the stencil and substrate are separated. Figure 2 shows how detachment defects can occur when the pad is slightly smaller than the aperture. Transfer rates become erratic, resulting in insufficient paste or poorly shaped deposits. To combat this, the pad design will need further work to establish suitable guidelines for pad size, spacing between pads, and distances to adjacent components. One recommendation is to oversize the pad to ensure contact. Figure 2. Adhesion to the pad near stencil edges is important to ensure proper paste release. 3. Printing For the print process to be successful, at the smallest chip-component sizes, each element needs to be reviewed and optimised. The bottom line – as always – is that is that if print results are not repeatable, defects are in-built from the start that cannot be remedied by corrections further downstream. Printing is the process that presents the most challenges, particularly in relation to mixing the smallest components with larger components in a high-volume application. There are mainly four points to consider, to establish a secure and stable printing process: (1) The seal or gasket between the stencil and PCB (2) Controlling the aperture fill (3) The release of the PCB/paste from the stencil (4) PCB support As far as paste release is concerned, strong adhesion between the solder paste and the lands on the substrate (usually exposed copper pads on FR4 PCB) is needed to overcome the friction between the solder paste and the aperture walls. This is influenced by board design, as described earlier and in section 3.3, stencil design including aperture surface finish and any low-friction treatment that may be applied (section 3.5), and the stencil/board separation speed selected at printer setup. Solder paste vendors typically recommend a constant separation speed greater than 3mm/s for best paste release and cycle time. PCB support, or tooling has a key role in the success of printing small feature sizes. The rule of thumb is that the more support, the better the results. The aluminium tooling plate remains the gold standard for support. Experience with double-sided boards containing densely spaced components has shown that grid tooling is superior to pins. However, a tooling plate may be required for substrates less than 1mm thick. Note that top clamps should be avoided, as these can adversely affect aperture filling at distances of more than 25mm from the board edge. Before discussing changes to the print and placement processes, it is important to mention the cleanliness of the machine. Excess paste accumulating in the printing machine, becoming dry and hard over time, can have obvious negative effects on the print results. As the scope for variation becomes large when dealing with small component printing, it is vital to be sure the results are not impacted by random dropped paste. 3.1 Stencil-to-PCB Seal: Controlling the Gap Maintaining adequate contact between the stencil and substrate as the squeegee passes over the stencil apertures is important. A good gasket created by proper contact between the PCB and stencil will reduce bleed-out of the paste and help lower stencil-cleaning frequency. Various types of defects may result from an excessive gap between the stencil and substrate. Before attempting to print with challenging aperture sizes, the machine calibration between the board and the stencil should be checked to make sure it is within the manufacturer’s specification. The PCB thickness should also be measured properly, not using guesswork, and measuring a random sample of the lot to ensure consistency. Improper sizing can either over-drive the PCB into the stencil, or create a gap that will produce poor results. If the aperture size is small, insufficient paste may come into contact with the pad resulting in a lack of adhesion (figure 3). In this case, paste remains in the stencil apertures instead of transferring to the substrate after separation. Figure 3. Poor adhesion can prevent paste release upon stencil separation. On the other hand, a proportion of paste can escape from stencil apertures and spread onto the substrate surface (figure 4). With the smaller apertures for 0201 size components, the process becomes more sensitive to the volume deposited and less tolerant of un-released or escaped paste. Figure 4. Paste can escape onto the substrate surface, causing defects like bridging. Vacuum clamping, after alignment and before the squeegee excursion begins, is recommended to ensure accurate positioning and maintain contact between the stencil and substrate throughout the printable area. To ensure accuracy is maintained, after vacuum is applied, the stencil frame must be sufficiently rigid. Recognising that low-cost stencil frames can lack the required rigidity, and may distort when vacuum is applied, these should be carefully considered: upgrading the stencil specification to a frame of higher quality may be necessary. Under any circumstances, small gaps are likely to occur between the substrate and stencil, and can be tolerated within certain limits. Experimentation has shown that a gap of up to 0.2mm can be tolerated, resulting in acceptable print quality. Figure 5 shows compares the volume of paste transferred to the substrate through 0.22mm x 0.24mm stencil apertures for stencil-substrate gap as large as 1.0mm, demonstrating acceptable repeatability up to about 0.2mm. Figure 5. Paste-volume repeatability is acceptable with a stencil-substrate gap of about 0.2mm. If the maximum acceptable gap is not to be exceeded, it is imperative to ensure the upper surface of the substrate and lower surface of the stencil are extremely clean. Moreover, other features that affect surface flatness – such as labels or silk-screen printing of a board-ID barcode or component-position identifiers – can significantly challenge process control. A typical silk-screen process can produce ink deposits that may be between 20µm and 100µm thick, which is enough to allow unwanted leakage of paste from apertures during printing. Elimination of silk screening for component identification is recommended. Among potential solutions, Photo-Imageable Embedded Reference Designators (PIERD® - a trademark of Tokai Shinei Electronics Corporation Limited) can create visible markings in the solder-resist layer and require no ink to be deposited on the surface of the substrate. Alternatively, new flexible stencils have been developed, such as the Taiyo Yuden ER type, Nakanuma FIT, Micron Process Lab PH, or Cube SMT Lab P-Cube Stencils. These feature a resin coating on the underside of the stencil, typically between 10µm and 30µm thick, which conforms against small surface irregularities to prevent paste escape. Another key point is to ensure the PCB solder-mask height is level with the pad height. Sunken pads, at a lower height than the mask, produce a gap that prevents contact between the board and stencil resulting in erratic print deposits. 3.2 Controlling Aperture Fill Proper filling of the stencil apertures during squeegee excursion is known to depend most strongly on paste pressure and excursion speed . Squeegee pressure has an impact on filling, but reaches a point where the effect on the paste becomes saturated and blade deflection is the result. This tends to cause scooping from larger apertures, resulting in poorer filling. Paste pressure is related to the weight of the paste roll on the surface of the stencil, and the squeegee angle. Squeegee angle has been shown to have a greater impact on the aperture fill than the conventional parameters of speed and pressure. The ability to optimise the angle between 65 degrees – typically used for low-viscosity materials – and 45 degrees used for polymer or adhesive printing enhances the ability to maximise aperture fill. Reducing the squeegee angle extends the time that the material spends over the aperture. In addition, a greater proportion of the blade surface area is in contact with the material, and so increases the impact on aperture filling. The optimal range for printing with solder paste is between 60 and 50 degrees. By reducing the squeegee angle as the paste roll size diminishes (as the paste is forced into the stencil apertures), the paste pressure can be kept more or less constant between the times at which the paste is replenished. Some printing machines have no ability to vary the squeegee angle, so the blades are normally set to 60 degrees. As the size of the apertures becomes smaller, with the introduction of 0201 chip-size components in mainstream SMT manufacturing, the ability to vary the squeegee angle – as provided by the Yamaha 3S (Swing Single Squeegee) head - delivers an advantage for process control and consistency. 3.3 Paste Release: Adhesion of Solder Paste and Lands The industry still needs to establish optimal land sizes for soldering 0201 terminations. The aperture size should be slightly less than the land size, to maximise adhesion at the areas of the land closest to the edges of the aperture and thereby ensure consistently good paste release and deposit shape. The transfer efficiency of the apertures can be determined using aspect-ratio and area-ratio formulas. The aspect ratio (aperture width ÷ stencil thickness) can show whether the stencil thickness is appropriate for the aperture width, but does not give a clear picture of the transfer efficiency. An aspect ratio of 1.5 is generally recognised as the minimum for acceptable paste release. The area ratio (bottom area ÷ lateral area) is illustrated in figure 6. This provides a better indicator of transfer efficiency. As component dimensions and solder-terminal sizes have reduced, so too has the minimum acceptable area ratio for stencil apertures. When first introduced, the minimum score was 0.66. For the latest components, an area ratio of about 0.40 is considered mandatory. Figure 6. Area ratio. [1] George Babka, Assembléon. Moving Towards a Stable Printing Process. To satisfy either of the formulas, the contact area of the pad must be greater than the total area of the aperture wall. Effectively, the stencil thickness must be reduced to ensure satisfactory paste release at smaller aperture sizes. Figure 7 describes typical stencil thicknesses for the land sizes appropriate to commonly used chip-size passives and surface-mount IC packages. Components as small as 03015 or 0201 need the stencil thickness to be in the range 40µm to 60μm. Figure 7. Appropriate stencil thickness, according to component size. Boards containing a mixture of the smallest and largest components, like connectors or discrete power components, can challenge attempts to identify a suitable, uniform stencil thickness. A thin stencil, needed to print paste for 03015 or 0201 chips, may be unable to deposit the quantity of solder required for the larger parts. Known solutions to this challenge include selective etching of the stencil, in locations where small components are used, to reduce the thickness and so improve paste release. This can be economical, and is possible to implement without needing to use a special squeegee, such as a flexible non-metallic, squeegee. On the other hand, the board design may be constrained by the fact that the squeegee cannot follow the contours of the stencil if the etched areas are small. The smallest components may need to be confined to a limited area, which may not be practicable. As an alternative, a thinner stencil of uniform thickness suitable for printing deposits for smaller components can be used, and solder preforms placed on the pads for larger components to ensure enough solder is present for satisfactory reflow. These preforms are placed using conventional mounting techniques, but add to the BOM cost for the board and can significantly extend the cycle time for the mounter. In addition, stencils below 50µm thickness can be expensive, fragile, and difficult to procure. Greater susceptibility to “coining” caused by repeated contact of the PCB and squeegees can also shorten the operating lifespan. 3.4. Sequential Printing to Cover the Full Component Range Sequential printing can offer an effective alternative. In this approach, two stencils of different thicknesses are used – one after the other – to apply paste to the same substrate. This enables two different grades of solder paste to be deposited, and gives extra freedom to position small components anywhere on the board, without recourse to placing preforms on pads that require a larger volume of paste. A dual-lane printer with a sequential printing mode, such as the Yamaha YSP20, is needed. Figure 8 shows the results of sequential printing, using separate stencils for 1608 and 03015 components respectively. Sequential printing also provides the opportunity to reduce the cost of solder paste deposited on the board, by using the more expensive type 5.5 or 6 paste for printing fine features only. A coarser particle size can be used for depositing larger volumes of paste. Figure 8. Sequential printing using stencils of different thickness allows the print process to handle a large difference between the solder volume required for ultra-small components and that needed for larger devices. 3.5 Stencil Treatments for Improved Paste Release The surface roughness of the aperture walls is known to be an important factor influencing paste release. A low-friction surface is desirable, but applying extra polishing or coating processes to the stencil at manufacture adds to cost. Laser-cut stencils can be subjected to electrolytic polishing, which is more effective than physical polishing, in terms of its effect on the inner surfaces of the apertures. Physical polishing is effective in removing burrs from the aperture edges, which can aid sealing at the stencil-substrate join, but has little if any effect on surface finish inside the aperture. Electrolytic polishing ensures a smoother surface, and a further water-repellent silicone-based coating process can be applied to ensure the lowest possible friction. Alternatively, additive (electro-formed) stencils are known to benefit from aperture walls that have inherently lower surface friction than laser-cut apertures. Bearing in mind that the reduced stencil thickness needed to print deposits for 0201 components has the effect of lowering demands on the additive process – in terms of material deposited and time to complete the process - the cost premium for electro-forming can be lower compared to a laser-cut stencil. However, additive stencils can display variable stencil thickness, across the surface of the board, with inaccuracy and encroachment of the aperture size, during the additive process. Image stretch introducing during the photoresist phase can also be an issue. On the other hand, the accuracy of laser-cutting processes, combined with today’s high-quality fine-grain steels that produce smooth aperture walls, ensure laser-cut stencils remain a popular, effective and economical choice. 3.6. Experimental Study of Aperture Size, Stencil Properties and Solder Paste Yamaha has analysed printing processes for 0201 components, comparing performance with various aperture sizes, solder paste types, and stencil manufacturing techniques. The experimental conditions are as follows: Solder pastes: ① Senju Metal Industry M705-RGS800 Type 5 (average particle size 20μm） ② Senju Metal Industry M705-RGS800 Type 5.5 (average particle size 15μm） ③ Senju Metal Industry M705-RGS800 Type 6 (average particle size 10μm） Stencils (each thickness 50µm): ① Sonocom laser + electrolytic polished ② Sonocom laser + electrolytic polished + liquid-repellent coating ③ Sonocom additive + liquid-repellent coating Printer setup: Model: YSP with 3S squeegee Stencil detach speed: 3mm/sec Squeegee angle: 55°, Squeegee speed: 50mm/sec Squeegee pressure: 60N Solder print inspection: Model: YSi-SP high-resolution type (5/10μm） (measure solder volume fraction with 10 consecutive sheets) Figure 9. Process capability comparison for aperture sizes, solder paste types and stencil properties. Figure 9 shows the calculated process capability for each combination of aperture size, solder paste and stencil type. Several conclusions can be drawn: • Laser-cut and electro-polished stencils with water-repellent coating are able to support 0201 processes, and can deliver results superior to the additive-formed stencil • The water-repellent coating significantly improves the laser-cut stencil performance • Type 5.5 solder paste can deliver comparable results to more expensive type 6 pastes. Type 5 paste shows inferior performance A Note on Solder-Paste Particle Size The successive reductions in SMD chip-component sizes, and the effects on aperture designs, have pushed paste requirements towards finer particle sizes (table 2). Table 2. Standard paste types and suitable applications. The transition from Type 3 paste, with 35µm typical particle size, to 30µm Type 4 pastes was driven not only by the promise of greater end of line yield but also by reductions in the cost of Type-4 pastes due to rising demand. A similar transition is occurring in the present timeframe, as the cost of Type-5 pastes is becoming lower with increasing adoption in high-volume manufacturing processes. The arrival of 0201 on factory floors is pushing the requirement to Type-6. The current high price of Type-6 pastes reflects today’s low-volume applications for 0201 components in semiconductor and specialised applications. Whereas the Type-5 powder costs about 40% compared to Type-4, the material cost for Type-6 pastes can almost triple. This is of concern to high-volume manufacturers. Looking at the average particle sizes from Type-3 to Type-7, in Table 1, there is a significant difference between Type-5 and Type-6, where the ball size is reduced by half from 20µm to 10µm. Noting that paste suppliers have offset the premium for Type-5 pastes through a blend of powder sizes that create a Type-4.5, the opportunity exists to create a Type-5.5 with average particle size of 15µm. This could address the cost concerns, and may also reduce the risks associated with oxidation of the smaller particles and challenges associated with reflow. The experimental study compared results for Type-5, Type-5.54 and Type-6 pastes to assess the impact of particle size on process performance. 4. Optimising the Mounting Process for 0201 Components Assembling ultra-small components down to 0201 size (and even smaller in the future), also challenges aspects of the mounting process. Accurate component pickup holds the key to satisfactory placement, and is dependent on correct alignment of the nozzle and feeder, as well as correct pickup height. When picking up small chip resistors or capacitors, there is minimal tolerance for any offset between the centre of the component and the centre of the nozzle. In addition to errors in feeder and nozzle position, other factors such as temperature difference also have increasing influence over the placement accuracy of smaller components. Automatic correction, using a system such as Yamaha’s Multiple Accuracy Compensation System (MACS) compensates for all sources of error in the machine’s mechanisms. MACS helps to ensure component pickup at the nozzle centre by identifying the centre of the component as it is presented in the feeder tape, and by recognising the image of the nozzle tip to automatically correct for deviation from the theoretical centre. MACS has been shown to improve accuracy by a factor of three, reducing positional errors to less than 10µm (3 sigma). Automatic pickup height teaching is also critical, both to prevent damage to the small and delicate components, and to prevent mis-orientation of the component after applying the positional corrections calculated by MACS. Figure 10 illustrates aspects of the mounting process that can affect placement accuracy, and the elements that are addressed using auto position compensation and pickup-height teach. Figure 10. Automatic calculation of pickup height and nozzle position, with accuracy compensation. A note on Nozzle Maintenance The appropriate nozzle for picking up 0201 components has a pore size of 0.1mm. This extremely small pore size is more vulnerable to blocking by tiny particles than larger nozzles such as those used for 0603 or larger components. Cleanliness, therefore, is of the essence, and frequent nozzle cleaning is recommended. Automatic cleaning of all nozzles simultaneously, using a cleaner such as the SAWA Nozzle Cleaning Unit with built-in ultrasonic cleaning, can be effective and efficient. After cleaning, the entire bank of nozzles is reinstalled and aligned in a single operation. 5. Inspection Commonly used inline automatic optical inspection (AOI) systems tend to contain a 5-Mpixel sensor and cover a field of view that gives image resolution of about 19 μm. When inspecting 0201-size components, this is not sufficient to provide a crisp, clear image that can be analysed easily and accurately. To increase the resolution, the field of view must be reduced if the 5-Mpixel sensor is to be retained. One drawback is that extra images must be captured to cover the entire board, resulting in longer cycle times. On the other hand, more advanced cameras with 12.58Mpixels are now available. These can allow high-speed, high-precision inspection with selectable resolution of 12μm or 7μm, and a large field of view. The advantages of using the latest high-resolution cameras can be additionally boosted by also applying multi-dimensional and multi-angle inspection. Yamaha’s YSi-V series is capable of 3D and 2D visual inspection, at each of four different angles and in red, blue and green wavelengths, to give a multi-direction view of each component. In addition, there is laser checking for coplanarity and component-height. Users can select from various imaging and detection methods, depending on the requirements of each individual application. Conclusion The latest ultra-small components are here to stay, and make printing and placement even tougher. Manufacturers must respond by understanding the most effective techniques and equipment to solve the challenges and using these to perfect new processes. Superior control over squeegee angle, stencil thickness, alignment of mounter feeders and nozzles, pickup height, and versatile inspection modes including multi-angle, multi-wavelength, and high-resolution cameras support the advanced capabilities needed. Stencil characteristics, including rigidness of the frame, electrolytic polishing, aperture coatings, and conformable stencils that compensate for the effects of silk screening on the substrate, are also more critical. The findings presented in this paper can help all manufacturing businesses to achieve satisfactory process capability with minor changes to equipment and materials. To speak to a Yamaha technical specialist about developing processes for the 0201 generation and beyond, please call your local sales office, email, or see the website. ABOUT YAMAHA Robotics FA Section Yamaha Factory Automation Section (FA Section), a subdivision of Yamaha Motor Robotics Business Unit in Yamaha Motor Corporation, is focused on delivering flexible, high-accuracy industrial robots for precision automation challenges. With its roots in the introduction of robot technology to Yamaha motorcycle assembly activities, the division has over 40 years’ experience solving automation challenges from factory-scale to micron-level. Yamaha’s industrial robots are now trusted by leading corporations worldwide, in activities as diverse as semiconductor fabrication and assembling electronic products, domestic appliances, automotive components, and large liquid-crystal panels. Yamaha Motor FA Section offers a unified range of solutions for robotic assembly, including single-axis robots, SCARA, cartesian, and articulated robots. Innovations such as the LCMR200 linear conveyor module; a smoother, space-saving and more versatile successor to conventional belt and roller conveyors continue to set the pace in factory automation. Core robotic technologies as well as key components and complete robot systems are all produced in-house, ensuring consistent quality and control over lead-times. Headquartered in Neuss, Germany, Yamaha FA Section serves customers in all Europe. https://fa.yamaha-motor-robotics.de/ #DiscoverYamahaRobotics
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5. April 2018IWATA, April 05, 2018—Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. (Tokyo:7272) announced today that it will exhibit for the first time at the HANNOVER MESSE 2018, a B to B industrial technology trade show to be held in Hannover, Germany, from Monday, April 23 to Friday, April 27, 2018. Based on the theme of “Fully-Digitalized Production through Robot Transport,” the Yamaha Motor booth will showcase the overall construction of Fully-Digitalized Production lines, including transport processes. The HANNOVER MESSE is the world’s leading industrial trade fair, at which leading-edge industrial technology and products are gathered in one place. (The 2017 event saw exhibits held by approx. 5,000 companies attracting around 220,000 visitors). The Yamaha Motor booth at the HANNOVER MESSE will feature the Advanced Robotics Automation Platform, as well as an operation demonstration of the Platform and the YK400XR SCARA robot, showcasing the high-speed capability and precision of Yamaha robotics technology to a broad cross-section of the European market. Overview of HANNOVER MESSE 2018http://www.hannovermesse.de/home Event Period : April 23 to 27, 2018 Venue ： Hannover Exhibition Grounds, Germany No. of Exhibitors ： Approximately 5,000* No. of Attendees ： Around 220,000 people* *Previous event (2017) Yamaha Motor Exhibit Outline Exhibit Space ： Hall17, B06 Details ： ◎Exhibition and demonstrationsAdvanced Robotics Automation PlatformYK400XR Contact info Oumayma Grad Marketing Communications Manager Hansemannstraße 12 41468 Neuss Germany Office: +49 2131 2013 538 Mobile: +49 1517 0233 297 Fax: +49 2131 2013 550 Email: oumayma.grad@yamaha-motor.de Web: www.yamaha-motor-im.eu Models to be Exhibited by Yamaha Motor Advanced Robotics Automation Platform This new robotics system enables automation of complex advanced production facilities rapidly and at low cost. The system enables integrated control in one unit of the multiple robots and peripheral devices necessary for production facilities, reducing wasted time through the full digitalization of facilities. ARAP Product Website:https://www.yamaha-motor.co.jp/robot/platform/en/ Explanatory video:https://youtu.be/r_x_WSFj4rc YK400XR This SCARA robot features both high quality/functionality and excellent cost-performance. These robots deliver outstanding high rigidity, high-speed capability, and high-accuracy capability. They are utilized across a wide range of production processes, from production facilities for electrical/electronic components and compact precision machinery parts requiring precision assembly, through to transfer and transport in large automotive component assembly. YK400XR Product Website:https://global.yamaha-motor.com/business/robot/lineup/ykxg/ Applications:https://global.yamaha-motor.com/business/robot/lineup/application/ykxg/ Introduction of Features:https://global.yamaha-motor.com/business/robot/lineup/ykxg/small/yk400xr/ Demonstration video:https://youtu.be/5b7JbiONZvY Industrial Robot Market Overview Driven by rising wages and increased quality requirements in China and emerging markets, as well as the decreasing working-age population in Japan and Europe, the global robot market has followed a growth trend, which is expected to continue. The average annual growth rate for the 2017 to 2024 period is forecast to grow at 4.2% on a monetary basis, and at 10.2% on a unit basis, with market expansion expected to continue in the future. History of Yamaha Motor Industrial Robots 1974 : Yamaha Motor begins research and development into industrial robots in order to streamline production and increase machining precision in its own motorcycle factories 1976 : SCARA robots introduced to Yamaha Motor motorcycle production lines 1981 : Industrial Robots business established. External sales begin 1984 : IM Business Unit established (Yamaha Motor Hamakita Plant) / SCARA robot sales begin overseas 1991 IM Technology Center completion (Sodecho, Hamamatsu city, Shizuoka Prefecture) 2006 IM Technology Center and factory expansion 2013 : China (Suzhou City) sales office establishedLinear conveyor module LCM100 launched 2016 : Advanced Robotics Automation Platform integrated controller (PLC) launched 2017 : New Robotics Business building begins operation Yamaha Motor’s lineup of industrial robots ranging from industrial robots to controllers, which powerfully support the automation of production sites, is rich in variation. YMC builds on these strengths to pursue greater efficiency and quality in increasingly complex, diverse, and high-speed production sites. About YAMAHA Robotics FA Section Yamaha Factory Automation Section (FA Section), a subdivision of Yamaha Motor Robotics Business Unit in Yamaha Motor Corporation, is focused on delivering flexible, high-accuracy industrial robots for precision automation challenges. With its roots in the introduction of robot technology to Yamaha motorcycle assembly activities, the division has over 40 years’ experience solving automation challenges from factory-scale to micron-level. Yamaha’s industrial robots are now trusted by leading corporations worldwide, in activities as diverse as semiconductor fabrication and assembling electronic products, domestic appliances, automotive components, and large liquid-crystal panels. Yamaha FA Section offers a unified range of solutions for robotic assembly, including single-axis robots, SCARA, cartesian, and articulated robots. Innovations such as the LCM100 linear conveyor module; a smoother, space-saving and more versatile successor to conventional belt and roller conveyors continue to set the pace in factory automation. Core robotic technologies as well as key components and complete robot systems are all produced in-house, ensuring consistent quality and control over lead-times. Headquartered in Hamamatsu, Yamaha FA Section serves customers globally through its worldwide sales network spanning China, Taiwan, Korea, south Asia, north America, Australia/New Zealand, and Europe. www.yamaha-motor-im.eu