Automatic handling robot drive module

The aim is to realize more labor-saving and efficient transportation in the warehouse> and develop a high-precision, high-efficiency, and low-cost drive module for automatic handling robots

By leveraging the synergies of the Group, we will develop efficient drive modules.

Supporting the expanding e-commerce market.

In a large warehouse with rows of goods shelves erected on one side, more than 100 automated handling robots are constantly running, lifting the shelves and handing them over to delivery people called "pickers." When the picker picks the item from the shelf, the robot returns to its previous position. When the shelves are lowered, the robot immediately moves to the next shelf according to the new instructions. This is the operation of a large online shopping company's distribution outlets.

According to a survey conducted by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Japan the domestic BtoC-EC (direct-to-consumer e-commerce transaction) market is expanding year by year and reached 19.4 trillion yen in 2019. The growth rate is also increasing year by year, and has not yet reached the highest peak. Major online shopping companies have put a lot of effort into automating transportation in order to expand equipment as quickly as possible, improve efficiency, and eliminate chronic labor shortages.

Japan Denco Shinho, which develops and manufactures reducer products, has partnered with various motor companies within the Japan Dec Group to provide drive modules for automated handling robots to support the entire e-commerce market.

Using high-precision gear processing technology, we have developed planetary reducers with low backlash

Japan Denco Shinho has long handled a variety of planetary reducers for servo motors used in the industrial field. In applications that require strict positioning, it is natural to have a minimum backlash (clearance) of the reducer. In order to meet the requirements of this market, Japan Denko Shinho has invested a lot of effort in high-precision machining of gears. Even when robot manufacturers asked Japan Denco Shinho for drive module products for automatic handling robots used in e-commerce warehouses, Japan Denco Shinho continued to use its technological capabilities in this area to develop planetary reducers with low backlash. In cooperation with Japan Electric Motor (United States), a subsidiary of the Japan Dec Group, we provide a low-backlash, high-efficiency drive module that integrates a motor and a reducer, contributing to high-precision positioning and long-term battery drive. From 2015 to December 2020, approximately 1.05 million units of this drive module were shipped and used at various logistics sites around the world.

The basis of the drive motor is a planetary reducer for servo motors manufactured by Japan Densho Shinbo. This planetary reducer is characterized by high efficiency, low backlash and quiet operation.

Through cooperation with motor companies within the Japan Electricity Group, we have realized market demand for smaller and lower costs

Japan Denco Shinho's products have received high praise in responding to the needs of online shopping companies' warehouses, and Japan Denco Shinbo has strengthened its cooperation with motor companies within the group to provide drive modules that integrate reducers and motors to all parts of the world.

Among the requirements for the drive module, there are two main points: "whether the design can be thin and short" and "whether it can reduce costs". In order to achieve these two requirements, we provide solutions that leverage the synergies of the Group.

One of them is the integration of the reducer and the motor.

In general, in order to transfer power from the motor to the reducer, a connecting shaft is used to connect the shaft of the motor to the reducer. If a connecting shaft is used, even a reducer and a motor, which were developed separately, can be connected together, but in this case, the number of components is large and the overall length must be increased. For this reason, the shaft, the core component of the motor, is manufactured in-house by Nidec Shinho, and the gear cutting process is carried out in-house and supplied to each motor manufacturer within the Japan Dec Group. Each motor manufacturer uses a process to manufacture motors using shafts provided by Japan Denko Shinbo. After the motor is manufactured, Japan Denco Shinbo delivers the reducer to each motor manufacturer, and the motor with the sun gear is connected to the reducer, and the drive motor is manufactured. This manufacturing process has been able to reduce the size of the product and reduce the cost by reducing the number of parts.

In addition, in cooperation with Leroy-Somer Motors & Drives CTD (United Kingdom), one of its group companies, Japan Electronics Shinho has optimized it as a geared motor by reviewing the structure of the gears and adjusting the output rotation of the motor.

In the past, the reducer for the travel shaft used two gear trains with a reduction ratio of 1/20 and was connected to the wheels by an output shaft. Japan Densho Shinbo succeeded in developing a reducer that can be mounted in a wheel by adopting a reduction ratio of 1/9, using a gear train, and adopting an internal rotation specification that can rotate the output in the reducer housing (see figure in the next item) in further pursuit of compactness and cost reduction. During the development process, Japan Denco Shinbo worked closely with motor manufacturer Leroy-Somer Motors & Drives CTD to discuss specification changes. By adjusting the output, a combination of torque and not over-acceleration was achieved, and costs were successfully reduced.

In cooperation with a motor manufacturer, we have succeeded in making the drive module smaller and thinner. The picture above shows the traditional drive module product; In the middle is a product that directly connects the shaft of the motor and the reducer; The figure below shows a product that changes the structure of the gear from a two-stage (1/20 ratio) to a one-stage (1/9) gear. Succeeded in reducing the overall size of the geared motor to about two-thirds.

The online shopping market will continue to expand in the future. In order to achieve more efficient logistics, we will further deepen our cooperation with various motor companies and contribute to the development of more efficient geared motors and the creation of state-of-the-art logistics warehouses.

Automatic handling robot drive module

Sections viewed

Contact

working hours