A Computer Numerically Control (CNC) Lathe-Robot interface laboratory has been established at the Jawaharlal Nehru National College of Engineering (JNNCE) here, its principal Srinivas Rao Kunte has said.
A sum of Rs 28 lakh had been spent for the establishment of the laboratory. Of this, Rs. 19 lakh was provided by the All-India Council for Technical Education as a grant under its modernisation and removal of obsolesces (MODROBS) scheme, he said at a press conference here.
After conducting a thorough market survey, it was decided to purchase a robot of Motoman-MH 12 model from Yaskawa, a Japanese firm. The robot has a payload of 12 kg., six motorised axis and pneumatic dual grippers. The equipment weighing 130 kg., has a horizontal reach of 1,440 mm and vertical reach of 2,511 mm. The robot had been directly imported from Japan, he said.
The robot could perform the tasks like pick and place, palletisation, machine-tending and quality-checking. By modifying the arms of the robot, the tasks like painting, welding and assembling could also be performed. An interface had been established between the CNC lathe and the robot at the laboratory, he said. Students would be immensely benefited from the laboratory as they would get hands-on training in robot technology here. The JNNCE was willing to extend technical expertise and other assistance for local industries willing to adopt robot technology in their operations, he said.
D.S. Ramakrishna, head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at JNNCE, was present.
