Lubrication-free fish vaccination robot

Technical data:

• What was needed: A delta robot that is able to pick up fish and supply them with vaccine
• Requirements: 100% lubrication and maintenance-free, corrosion-free, resistant to fresh water, salt water and cleaning chemicals, robust, abrasion-resistant
• Products used: dryspin® Lead screw and lead screw nut, drylin® anodised shaft, iglidur® plain bearing with flange
• Success for the customer: As the robot is used outdoors on fish farms in Norway, Scotland and Iceland, all components must be resistant to fresh water, salt water and cleaning chemicals. The company relies on robust and lubrication-free polymer bearings, anodised shafts and lead screw systems from igus®. The designers have also produced a vaccine injector from a CNC block made of high-performance plastic, which is abrasion-resistant and resistant to oil-based vaccines.

The task was to develop a fully autonomous tool for inoculating and sorting fish (pick and place) to be coupled with a delta robot. The aim was to develop a lightweight and rigid tool capable of withstanding high torques while holding a fish securely in place. The tool had to be able to successfully take a fish from a moving conveyor belt. It had to process the fish, deliver vaccines and place it back on the conveyor belt in a new orientation.

The tool had to fulfil other strict guidelines such as corrosion resistance, long service life and low maintenance. The machine is to be transported from one location to another and must therefore be robust able to withstand the transport. As the tool was to be used on a fish farm in outdoor areas (Norway, Scotland, Iceland), the selection of plastic that is resistant to fresh water, salt water and cleaning chemicals was of utmost importance.

The products from igus® played an important role in the development and revision of existing components and enabled a lighter, more compact and more reliable design. The use of low-friction flanged bearings in sliding and rotating parts of the design not only reduced the weight and size of the part, but also increased the life expectancy of the system. The prefabricated igus® solution gave certainty that it would work and fit in with the rest of the system, reducing assembly time and allowing time to focus on more time-consuming areas such as fish measurement data. The calculations provided by igus® proved that the components would withstand the planned load and ensure a long service life and long maintenance intervals. The use of a complete igus®system with igus® own machining of threaded spindles and rail allows for a straightforward set-up on arrival.

Thanks to the wide range of igus® products and the possibility of customisation, designs could be selected that were desirable for the application without sacrificing the original design intent.