尼得科株式会社的集团公司尼得科仪器株式会社(旧日本电产三协)开发出了能够在真空环境下工作的液晶基板搬运机器人,该机器人具有与在大气环境下工作同等的关节自由度。
在液晶面板和有机EL等显示器的制造工艺中,为了同时实现生产成本的削减和屏幕尺寸的大型化,不断需要更大的母玻璃基板和更快的处理速度。由于可搬运的玻璃尺寸越大搬运效率就越高,因此近年来对3m×3m大尺寸母玻璃基板的搬运需求不断增加。母玻璃基板的薄膜处理、蒸镀等工艺需要极高洁净度的真空环境,因此,搬运机器人也必须具备能承受真空环境的性能。
尼得科仪器在用于有机EL基板蒸镀工艺的搬运机器人领域中,全球市场份额名列前茅,本产品也充分运用了该专有技术。在真空环境下工作的机器人,其各个关节都内置了密封装置,以防止空气和灰尘等从机器人的机械臂等内部逸出,这往往是导致可动关节自由度降低的原因。为此,尼得科仪器产品采用了与减速机一体化的磁性密封件,可以将密封件的使用数量控制在最小范围,确保了与大气环境同等的自由度。为了满足客户的需求,产品线包括回旋镖式和SCARA式两种臂型,两种臂型采用的是可以通用的单元,有效地控制了成本。
尼得科仪器作为全球颇具实力的综合电机制造商的一员,今后将继续为打造舒适的社会提供有益的解决方案。
USB-6210
Nidec Instruments Co., LTD. (formerly NIDEC Sankai), a group company of NIDEC Corporation, has developed a liquid crystal substrate handling robot capable of operating in a vacuum environment with the same degree of joint freedom as operating in an atmospheric environment.
In the manufacturing process of displays such as LCD panels and organic EL, in order to achieve both production cost reduction and screen size enlargement, larger parent glass substrates and faster processing speed are constantly required. Because the larger the size of the glass that can be transported, the higher the handling efficiency, the demand for the handling of 3m×3m large-size mother glass substrate has been increasing in recent years. Processes such as film treatment and evaporation of the mother glass substrate require a vacuum environment with a high degree of cleanliness, so the handling robot must also be able to withstand the vacuum environment.
Nidec Instruments has a leading global market share in handling robots for organic EL substrate evaporation processes, and this product makes full use of this know-how. Robots that work in a vacuum environment have built-in sealing devices in each joint to prevent air and dust from escaping from the interior of the robot’s robot arm, which is often the cause of reduced freedom of movable joints. To this end, NIDEC instrument products use magnetic seals integrated with the reducer, which can control the number of seals used to a minimum, ensuring the same degree of freedom as the atmospheric environment. In order to meet the needs of customers, the product line includes boomerang type and SCARA type two arm models, both of which use a common unit, effectively controlling the cost.
As a member of the world’s most powerful integrated motor manufacturers, NIDEC Instruments will continue to provide beneficial solutions for building a comfortable society.
