Variable modular system as a basis for solutions in process technology, assembly, research and explosive environments.

Hexapod System in Action

Clever engineering solutions for sophisticated drive applications in the most varied of areas have built a worldwide reputation for Pfaff-silberblau. The specialists in actuator technology are now making their first appearance at the Automatica in Munich – with their well thought out modular system and exciting case studies of automation applications.

Packaging machines

To make loads secure for transport, they are often fixed on pallets with stretch foil. A highly elastic foil is picked up by four “fingers“, and drawn over the pallet. The foil is stretched by High-performance Worm Gear Screw Jacks from the Pfaff-silberblau HSE series: Within seconds, the transparent material is stretched with a tensile force of up to 8 kN per HSE. With speeds of up to 4 metres per minute during the stretching process, and 12 metres per minute in fast mode, one completely loaded pallet can be packaged roughly every 25 seconds. The four individual actuators are synchronized by an electric pulse counter integrated in the screw jack. Thanks to the self-locking trapezoidal screw, additional holding force or a brake on the motor are unnecessary. And Pfaff-silberblau have tailored their HSE series to the stringent requirements of their customers with regard to availability over long periods of operation, and their use in three-shift operation.

Automotive industry

Modified Standard Worm Gear Screw Jacks from the Pfaff-silberblau SHE series are used in car production. Their special qualifications for this are their reliability, and their precision of positioning and repeatability, but also their high standard of safety (conforming to EC Directives EN280, 1493, 1570), which is absolutely essential for safe working at the assembly line. The SHEs give reliable service in both assembly of the upper and lower body – the so-called “marriage” – and final assembly. Here, the workers assemble vehicle components, some of them in the tolerance range of 0.1 mm, and install dashboards in the interior of the raised body, or axles under the vehicle.

Research

So-called “hexapod systems“ are a real specialty of Pfaff-silberblau. These sophisticated drive systems allow radio telescopes to be moved precisely to the millimeter on their x-y-z axes. This is made possible by six specially built screw jacks from the HSE-Ku series with a stroke of 3,500 mm, that allow azimuth and elevation movements of 30 through 150 degrees, and a precise polarization movement of ±30 degrees. The drive of the hexapod consists of high-precision worm gears with integrated, pre-stressed double nuts and ball screws. They form an overall system that is almost free of play, which is of decisive importance for the sensitive astronomical receiver units with their positioning precision of 0.07mm.

Modular system as the basis of excellent drive solutions

These varied engineering solutions are made possible by the versatile construction-kit principle behind the Pfaff-silberblau product program. This permits not only “everyday” drive solutions, but also unusual ones that are convincing because of their intelligent technology and their economy. The HSE series, for instance, comprises a range of nine sizes with lifting forces of 5 kN through 1,000 kN, at lifting speeds of up to 12 metres per minute, in two versions: Type1 (lifting screw) and type 2 (rotating screw), and a wide range of standard accessories. All lifting elements in the HSE series are fitted with trapezoidal screws as standard. For highly dynamic drive requirements, or for special solutions like the hexapod system, Pfaff-silberblau also supplies lifting elements with ball screws.

Solutions for potential explosive areas in compliance with ATEX

The Pfaff-silberblau modular system also includes worm gear screw jacks suitable for use in potentially explosive areas, conforming to EC Directive 94/9/EC ATEX ([I]"atmosphères explosibles"[7I]). These are used in the aviation industry, for example, in the maintenance and painting of various types of aircraft. Here, both the elevating work platforms and the aircraft itself have to be raised, the latter by means of a nose-wheel jack with a screw drive. For these and other applications requiring a high degree of system safety, Pfaff-silberblau supplies drive elements for unit group II in category 2 (= zone 1/21) and category 3 (= zone 2/22), and temperature classes T1 through T4. They are built to ignition protection type "c" (constructional safety as defined in EN 13463-5), but are also available with motor-power monitoring in ignition protection type "b" (ignition source monitoring as defined in EN 13463-6). For use in zones 1 and 2, the drive elements are equipped with oil lubrication and pressure ventilation according to ignition protection type “k”, and when liquid encapsulated conform to EN 13463-8.