A gantry robot is a stationary Cartesian robot with three perpendicular motions labeled X, Y, and Z. It has a work area where it can move objects or perform operations. It is used for pick and place applications and has better positional accuracy. However, it is stationary and cannot go to the part.
A gantry robot is also known as a Cartesian robot. It looks very different from the popular image of a robot. It is a stationary robot and typically contains a minimum of three motion elements. In this case, each motion refers to a linear motion in one direction only.
In a gantry robot, each of these motions is arranged to be perpendicular to each other and are typically labeled X, Y, and Z. X and Y are in the horizontal plane, and Z is vertical. Think X and Y were the width and length of a box and Z was the height of the box. The inside of this box is referred to as the work area of the gantry robot. A robot gantry can move objects anywhere within this envelope or perform some operation on an item within the envelope.
A typical application for a gantry robot is the assembly of a device. A gantry robot that performs this action is also referred to as a pick and place robot. The components needed for the device are somehow brought into the working envelope of the robot gantry and the robot gantry picks up each component and sticks or places it on the device being assembled. The device to be assembled must also be within the working area of the gantry robot. At the end of the movement in the Z direction, grippers of various types can be bolted to facilitate the gripping of the pieces. Rotational moves can also be added to both the Z-direction movement and the work area to allow for greater part manipulation.
Another typical application of a robot gantry is to perform one type of action on a part. The part needs to be positioned within the workspace and the gantry robot can be programmed to weld, drill holes or perform various other operations on the part. Rotary movements and appropriate tools are added to the gantry robot to enable it to perform its required function.
Gantry robots have several advantages over more popular varieties of robots. Portal bots can be made very large, filling an entire room if needed. Gantry robots typically have much better positional accuracy than their competitors.
Position accuracy refers to how close the robot can place a part to the indicated position. Gantry robots place parts exactly where programmed. This is why gantry robots are usually used for pick and place applications. Gantry robots are easier to program than to move than other robots. If the part needs to be moved from point (3,6,9) to point (4,2,8), this is simply a move of 1 unit in the X direction, -4 units in the Y direction and -1 unit in the Z direction .
Gantry robots also have a disadvantage in that they are stationary. Everything must be brought into the job bag and removed from the job bag when completed. A portal robot cannot go to the part; the part must arrive at the portal robot.
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