ASPINA (Shinano Kenshi Co., Ltd.) has been expanding its business in the industrial robot field, including robot hand products and autonomous mobile robots (AMR). Accordingly, the company leverages its motor and actuator technologies it has nurtured over many years.  The company showcased robot hand products and AMR at the recent RoboDEX held in Tokyo, Japan. At the same time, the company also took opportunity of the annual event to introduce new products under development.

Meets Wide Range of Needs

ASPINA sets forth the industrial robot field as one of the growth fields. In 2019, the company commercialized the ARH305A electric three-prong robot hand product equipped with a servo system, which adopted a stepping motor, and a controller. For that reason, the company has been building up its lineup of products.

The ARH350A electric three-prong robot hand features the maximum opening diameter of 143mm and maximum grip force of 50N. The center of the robot hand has a hollow structure, allowing customization in accordance with application. Most importantly, it adds a camera and an air-suction mechanism. 

To meet a wide range of needs of industries, the company has rolled out air attachments, fixing claws, parallel link claws and wide claws as options of electric three-prong robot hands. These options enable electric three-prong robot hands to meet the needs of the unpackaging, packaging and shipping processes at manufacturing and logistics industries.  In addition, they also meet the needs of supermarkets and convenience stores for stocking and display operations. Furthermore, they are also suitable for use for in transferring plastic bottles at the beverage industry; transfer and assembly work at manufacturing floors; and material feeding at resin mold manufacturers. 

Adapts to Diverse Production Layouts

ASPINA altered firmware of robot hand products and rolled out in Jan. 2023 products with a new auto-grip function. Thereby, enabling the robot hands to grip multiple workpieces of different types with a single operation command without crushing them. 

The company entered the AMR market for manufacturing floors and has been preparing for mass production. The company’s AMR comes equipped with the simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) function. Thus, it can create environmental maps of its surroundings, assumes its position, and travels to the destination, while automatically searching routes and avoiding people and obstacles. 

As it autonomously travels without the need of guide, it can also suit high-mix, low-volume production manufacturing lines. In addition, it can also complement processes subject to frequent changes of layout, as well as in existing plants. 

Aiming to propose comprehensive values in the industrial robot field, the company developed a thin in-wheel motor for driving wheels, and a thin hollow brushless motor for joints. It started offering these products on the market in 2022. 

The thin in-wheel motor for driving wheels has been electrified while maintaining the same width as ordinary wheels. It comes integrated in wheels that enable space-saving of the underbody. The thin hollow brushless motor for joints features the thinnest design in the industry and slim joints.