Harvester: precise and maintenance-free

• What was needed: iglidur plain bearings, igubal spherical bearings, easy chain energy chains
• Requirements: As the strawberries are very sensitive, the robot arm has to be very careful during harvesting, moving smoothly and slowly. The bearing technology therefore had to allow precise movement.
• Industry: agriculture
• Success for the customer: Over 100 plain bearings and a large number of energy chains make precise harvesting operations possible. They are also maintenance-free and cost-effective.

The AGROBOT SW6010 harvester is a harvesting machine for picking strawberries. robot arms with cages for picking up the strawberries move above the ground, cut off the ripe fruit, pick it up and finally place it in a basket system. This is done with the help of dozens of bearings that guarantee the correct positioning of the gripper arms at the time of cutting. The movement of the cages to pick up the strawberries also means that flexible cable routing is required for power and data. As the strawberry is a particularly delicate and impact-sensitive fruit, previous systems were particularly slow in their movement.

The solution was found in iglidur plain bearings. Today, more than 100 of them are used in the harvesting machine, helping the robot arms reach their cutting position on the individual strawberry within a few seconds. In addition, the system only picks ripe strawberries. The opening mechanism of the cage on the gripper arm, which passes on the fruit, consists of two symmetrical valves that are anchored to the respective axes of rotation. With great care, the strawberries are then placed into the containers for storage. igubal spherical bearings enable the robot arm to slide along with the cage, ensuring smooth, low-wear and particularly precise movements. A large number of easy chain energy chains guarantee the safe and flexible guidance of cables for power and signals to the individual robot arms.