PUSHCORP AFD620 Adjustable Force Device Instructions

PUSHCORP AFD620 Adjustable Force Device

Usage Instructions

CAUTION: Active Force Devices contain calibrated electronics. HANDLE WITH CARE. DO NOT DROP.

DO NOT USE LUBRICATED AIR.

This device requires a dry, non-lubricated 80 psi (5.5 bar) maximum air supply filtered to 5 µm and a 0.3 micron oil mist separator. Non-compliance with these requirements will void the manufacturer’s warranty (See Section 3.4).

Cable Management

All PushCorp, Inc. electrical cables are rated for high twist and flex robotic applications with a minimum cable bending radius specification of 125mm (5 in). Cable damage resulting from failure to abide by this specification will not be covered under warranty.

• CAUTION
  • Active Force Devices contain calibrated electronics. HANDLE WITH CARE. DO NOT DROP
• DO NOT USE LUBRICATED AIR.
  • This device requires a dry, non-lubricated 80 psi (5.5 bar) maximum air supply filtered to 5 µm and a 0.3 micron oil mist separator.
  • Non-compliance with these requirements will void the manufacturer’s warranty.
• All fasteners, mounting holes, and pipe threads on this tool are METRIC
  • All PushCorp, Inc. electrical cables are rated for high twist and flex robotic applications with a minimum cable bending radius specification of 125mm (5 in). Cable damage resulting from failure to abide by this specification will not be covered under warranty.

LIMITED WARRANTY

Duration

• One year from the date of delivery to the original purchaser.

Who gives this warranty

• PushCorp
• Telephone: (972) 840-0208
• Corporate Address:
• P. O. Box 181915
• Dallas, Texas 75218
• Shipping Address:
• 3001 W. Kingsley Rd.
• Garland, Texas 75041

Who gives this warranty (purchaser)

• The original purchaser (other than for purposes of resale) of the PushCorp product

What products are covered by this warranty

• Any PushCorp industrial equipment or accessory supplied of manufactured by the Warrantor.

What is covered under this warranty

• • Defects in material and/or workmanship that occur within the duration of the warranty period

What is not covered in this warranty

• IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING THOSE OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ARE LIMITED TO ONE YEAR FROM THE DATE OF ORIGINAL PURCHASE. Some states do not allow limitations on how long an implied warranty lasts, so the above limitations may not apply to you.
• ANY INCIDENTAL, INDIRECT, OR CONSEQUENTIAL LOSS, DAMAGE, or EXPENSE THAT MAY RESULT FROM ANY DEFECT, FAILURE, MALFUNCTION OF THE PUSHCORP, INC. PRODUCT. Some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages, so the above limitation or exclusion may not apply to you.
• Any failure that results from an accident, purchaser’s abuse, neglect, unauthorized repair, or failure to operate the products in accordance with the instructions provided in the owner’s manual(s) supplied with the product.

Responsibilities of the Warrantor under this warranty

• Repair or replace, at Warrantor’s option, products or components which have failed within the duration of the warranty period.

Responsibilities of the purchaser under this warranty

• Deliver or ship the PushCorp, Inc. product or component to the PushCorp, Inc. Service Center, Dallas, TX. Freight and insurance costs, if any, must be borne by the purchaser.
• Use reasonable care in the operation and maintenance of the product as described in the owner’s manual(s).

When the warrantor will perform repair or replacement under this warranty

• Repair or replacement will be scheduled and serviced according to the normal workflow at the service center, and depending on the availability of replacement parts. Purchasers requiring quicker repair may receive such with payment of a PushCorp, Inc. predetermined expediting fee.
• This Limited Warranty gives you specific legal rights, and you may also have other rights which vary from state to state.

OVERVIEW

• The PushCorp, Inc. 620 Series Adjustable Force Device (US Patent No. 5,448,146) provides a superior force application system for robots and other automated equipment. The device can be placed in any position to enable a variety of manufacturing operations requiring a consistently applied force with 1.6 in. (40 mm) of compliant stroke. The AFD is designed to withstand continuous use in harsh industrial grinding, polishing, and drilling operations.
• The 620 Series compliant tools utilize a pneumatic actuator to provide the force and provide closed-loop feedback. The 620 Series can apply up to a maximum 115 lbs. (512 N) of force. The AFD contains an accelerometer that monitors orientation and allows the unit to automatically compensate for gravitational and inertial effects. A linear potentiometer is also present within the AFD to sense the position of the Carriage.
• The only external connection that is required to operate the 620 Series is a filtered, non-lubricated, 80 – 90 psi (5.5 – 6.2 bar) supply air provided through flexible tubing. An optional Purge Port is also provided for applications where great amounts of fine dust particles are created. The Purge Port connection provides additional airflow and internal positive pressure to help minimize the amount of contamination infiltrating the interior of the AFD. The AFD’s sliding Carriage has threaded mounting holes to provide easy process equipment attachment.
• It is recommended that the user read the entire manual before beginning any operations to fully understand all the aspects and features of the 620 Series. All these features combine to make the PushCorp 620 Series Adjustable Force Device a rugged, state-of-the-art technology capable of providing reliable, precise, and consistent results in a variety of industrial applications.

QUICK START

This section contains step-by-step instructions on how to quickly get the 620 Series Adjustable Force Device up and running for a quick test of its capabilities. Complete details on all the features are described in the sections that follow.

1. Carefully unpack the 620 Series Force Device and verify that all parts indicated on the packing list are present and in good condition. If there is a problem, please notify the factory immediately so that corrective action may be promptly initiated.
2. Step 2: Securely attach the 620 Series Mounting Bracket to the manipulator mounting flange or support table per Section 4.2.
3. Step 3: Connect a dry, non-lubricated, 5 µm filtered 80 to 90 psi (5.5 to 6.9 bar) air supply to the 620 Series per Section 4.4.
4. Step 4: Consult the FCU-FLEX Manual for electrical connections and software setup information.

Please read the following sections to learn the full potential and features of the PushCorp 620 Series Adjustable Force Device.

INSTALLATION

Mounting Process Equipment

• The 620 Series Adjustable Force Device can accommodate many different types of process equipment. PushCorp provides a variety of standard process equipment, such as weld shavers, high-speed motors, plus other specialized tooling. Many end users also develop process equipment for their own applications. The AFD can be oriented parallel or perpendicular to the robotic manipulator mounting flange, although it is important to note that the AFD can apply force only in the direction of Carriage translation.
• When mounting process equipment to the carriage, extreme care should be taken while designing and installing the brackets. Correctly designed brackets will increase the stiffness of the Carriage by becoming an external superstructure for the Carriage. The Carriage can gain a tremendous amount of rigidity if this approach is executed correctly. Incorrectly designed brackets will deform the Carriage surface, causing internal Linear Rail misalignment. A symptom of Carriage deformation is “slop” or “binding” of the Carriage. A deformed or loose Carriage will damage the Linear Guides and affect the consistency of your process. If the Carriage becomes loose or binds after installing the process equipment, then the brackets must be removed and the problem corrected. PushCorp, Inc. can design and fabricate brackets to user-supplied specifications as an option.
• The bolt pattern on the Carriage has been designed to facilitate process equipment installation. The Carriage has (14) fourteen M8x1.25 mounting holes with a depth of 0.51 inch (13 mm) to provide secure attachment points. The mounting holes are spaced 6.5 inches (165.1 mm) across and on 1 inch (25.4 mm) and 2 inch (50.8mm) centers along the length of the Carriage. (See Figure 1) The Carriage also has (2) four 5mm dowel pin holes to facilitate alignment. (See Figure 1 for location) These dowel pin holes are oversized to allow the pins to be glued into place using Loctite 609, or equivalent. Only utilize 4 of the M6x1 mounting holes; using more than 4 may cause warping of the carriage.
• Care must be taken when designing and manufacturing brackets that will be mounted to the linear carriage. It is essential that these brackets maintain a face-to-face parallelism of at least 0.001” in order to prevent binding, which can lead to inaccurate applied force. As a result, we recommend using a tooling plate for the stock material or blanchard grinding the mounting faces.
• If these options are not practical for your design, machined steps or the use of shims under bolted surfaces are also suitable. We recommend a height of 0.02” to ensure enough clearance between the carriage and the mounting plate.
• WARNING: DO NOT press pins into the AFD Carriage as this will likely damage the bearing Linear Guides.
• CAUTION: The Fastener Tightening Torque Specs chart in Section 6.0 should be used to determine proper fastener length and torque for fasteners into the Carriage. This is to prevent the pull-out of the Carriage helicoil inserts.

Mounting the AFD620 Series

• The basic configuration of the 620 Series force device allows attachment to a stationary fixture or a robotic manipulator mounting flange. Specifying an AFD620 -1, -2, or -3 determines which Mounting Bracket is supplied. Adapter plates or “quick-change” attachments can be used as well for mounting. The 620 Series has (2) two 4mm dowel pins pressed into the base for location and alignment of the cover and Mounting Brackets.

Mounting the AFD620-1 Vertical and AFD620-2 Horizontal

• The AFD620-1 and AFD620-2 are supplied with a standard Mounting Bracket with a 90 mm three-hole mounting pattern, see Figure 4. All three holes should be utilized to secure the Mounting Bracket to the robot mounting flange. If the Mounting Bracket is supplied blank or additional holes are required, it must first be removed from the device before drilling. Four cap screws are used to attach the Mounting Bracket to the 620 Series. Once the Mounting Bracket is removed, mounting holes may be placed anywhere within the crosshatched area shown in Figure 4. PushCorp, Inc. will supply engineering support to determine the mounting hole locations at no cost.
  After drilling the required hole pattern, remove any burrs and clean any machining residue from the Mounting Bracket. The Mounting Bracket can then be reattached.

Maximum Carriage Load Calculations

• The Linear Guide bearings that support the 620 Series sliding Carriage have been selected to provide optimal performance with respect to capacity, size, and low friction. To ensure continued optimal performance, it is very important not to overload these bearings. The following diagrams and associated equations are provided to check your application for excessive loading.
• It is important to note that these equations require the use of Metric units. The necessary conversions are provided for your convenience. Insert your maximum applied force and process equipment weight (W) and overhang distances (D) to calculate an actual bearing load (L) that must be less than the maximum bearing load shown on the right side of the equation. The life of the bearings is 100,000 meters of linear motion, at the maximum allowable bearing load value. Exceeding this value (L) will reduce the life, and operating at less than this value (L) will increase the life. It is common to have combined weight and force loads on the Carriage. These situations may require adding two or more of the scenarios shown below. If your tooling is not similar to any of the designs listed here, or if the information is not clear, please contact PushCorp Technical Support for assistance.
• If AFD was purchased before January 2023, refer to the document located at: https://pushcorp.com/product/obsolete-products/ for appropriate carriage load calculations.
  • W = Maximum Force (N) (max. applied force + process equipment weight)
  • D = Load Overhang distance (mm) 1 lbf. = 4.45 N
  • Bearing Load (N) 1 in. = 25.4 mm
  • = Concentrated Load Position I N -0.102 kg
    

Pneumatic Connection

• The 620 Series Adjustable Force Devices require a dry, non-lubricated, 5 µm filtered, 80 to 90 psi (5.5 – 6.2 bar) air supply. Failure to provide supply air to these specifications can degrade performance and will void any warranty repairs concerning pneumatic components. Filtered air is required since the high-speed servo spool valve used in the AFD cannot tolerate ANY foreign material in the supply air. Additionally, a minimum 80 psi (5.5 bar) air pressure must be maintained at the supply air port for the device to operate within published specifications. Operating at lower air pressure can cause inferior force control performance and possibly instability. Operating the AFD at pressures over 90 psi (6.2 bar) will activate a pressure relief valve inside the tool. This valve prevents damage to the internal load cell due to operating the tool with excessive pressure. This relief valve is strictly a protective mechanism and should not be used as a pressure regulator device.
• The pneumatic supply system should be configured as shown in
• If water condensation is a problem in your air supply system, an air dryer device is highly recommended. The ideal solution is an industrial chiller dryer capable of reducing the dew point to less than 32° F (0°C). Moisture inside the force device will cause premature failure that will not be covered under warranty.
• Under most circumstances, the standard internal purge will provide sufficient air to keep the 620 Series free of contaminants. In applications where the environment contains very small suspended particulate matter, additional purge air flow must be used to ensure that the AFD remains clear of foreign matter. An auxiliary Purge Port on the 620 Series (See Figure 6) provides a pneumatic connection to supply this additional air flow. The port accepts a metric R 1/8 tapered pneumatic fitting. PushCorp can provide fittings for English or metric tubing. The input pressure to the purge port can range from 10 PSI to 60 PSI (0.7 – 4.1 bar) with a flow rate of 0.5 to 2.0 SCFM (14 – 56 l/min) depending on theapplication. The purge air must be dry and non-lubricated; it needs only to be filtered to 20 microns.
• The Supply Line and Purge Line to the device should be 1/4 inch or 6mm diameter flexible polyurethane tubing. The tubing should be routed to the AFD such that there are no kinks and that there is plenty of slack to allow for manipulator motion. Before inserting the Supply Line into the force device air fitting, open the Shut-Off valve to blow out any contaminates which may be in the line. The tubing can now be pushed into the self-locking fitting located on the side of the AFD. Charge the Supply Line with compressed air and verify that there are no air leaks and that there is a minimum of 80 PSI (5.5 bar) at the AFD. If a minimum air pressure cannot be achieved, then an auxiliary air compressor or booster pump with at least 2 SCFM (56 l/min) must be installed.

NOTE:

• PushCorp highly recommends the use of flexible polyurethane tubing as opposed to nylon tubing. This is because nylon tubing tends to crimp shut when it is bent. This severely limits air flow to the AFD and causes instability.
• To remove the Supply Line, first discharge all air pressure in the system, then while pushing inward on the fitting’s plastic ring, simultaneously pull the tubing out. Cover or plug the self-locking fitting anytime the Supply Line is not connected. This will keep any contaminants from entering the AFD.

Internal Air Cartridge Filter

The 620 Series contains a Cartridge Filter in the base housing. The Cartridge Filter is designed to be the last line of defense to protect the AFD from contamination. The Cartridge Filter is not designed to be the sole means of AFD supply air filtration. The pneumatic supply system must be configured as described in Section 4.4. If the filter becomes clogged, the 620 Series will not function properly. Replacement Cartridge Filters may be purchased from PushCorp (Part No. PAR01943-1) or from the manufacturer directly (Parker, Part No. 050-05-DQ). To remove the Cartridge Filter, loosen the Cartridge Filter Holder located on the side of the AFD base housing. See Figure 6. Remove the Cartridge Filter and perform a visual inspection. The condition of the Cartridge Filter will give an indication of the quality of your supply air system. Place a new Cartridge Filter on the Cartridge Filter Holder and insert it into the AFD base housing. Tighten the Cartridge Filter Holder to a torque of 11.6 lb-ft. (15.8 N-m).

ETHERNET INTERFACE

• The AFD has an Ethernet network connection that may be used to configure and control all aspects of the tool. The default factory network configuration is set to:
• IP Address: 192.168.0.10
• Network Mask: 255.255.255.0
• In order to utilize the Ethernet connection instead of the FCUFLEX Controller, an appropriate adapter cable must be purchased from PushCorp to provide a standard Ethernet RJ45 network connection. Power must be provided to this connector via an external PASSIVE Power-Over-Ethernet (POE) injector. The POE injector must provide power to the RJ45 connector on Pins 4,5: +24VDC, Pins 7,8: -24VDC. The factory default AFD host name is “AFD-xxxxx” where “xxxxx” is the serial number of the AFD controller.

Console Command Interface

The Console Command Interface can be accessed via the USB serial interface or over Ethernet via a standard Telnet session (TCP Port 23). All commands are standard ASCII strings. Upon powering up, the following sign message is transmitted:

• AFD Console Interface[CR][LF]
• HW Version: 1.0 SW Version: 1.0[CR][LF] Build Date: Jan 01 2018, 00:00:00[CR][LF]revision.
• This message is then followed by the command prompt: “>>”. This prompt follows all commands and indicates that the previous command is complete and that the unit is ready to accept additional commands.
• All commands must be in the following format:
• Command [Arguments][LF]  where “Command” is a command mnemonic and “Arguments” is optional data representing any necessary arguments for the given command. Each character of the transmitted string is echoed back to the sender (including the terminating [LF]). This provides a mechanism to verify accurate data transmission.
• Upon reception of the terminating [LF], the unit may respond to a command in one of three possible ways:

1. A successful command with no returned data: Response String: OK[CR][LF]
2. A successful command returning parameter data: Response String: Data[CR][LF]
3. An unsuccessful command: Response String Error: Error Object [Error No]: Error Description[[CR][LF]

The following section describes the various commands to control and configure the AFD controller.

Web and UDP Command Interface

• The AFD can be configured and controlled via web (TCP Port 80) and UDP (Port 1993) socket requests. For both of these interfaces, all returned data will be formatted as a JSON object.
• The returned JSON object will always have two top-level keys: “status” and “data”. The “status” key will always have one of two values. A value of “success” indicates that the command was successful, and the “data” value will be either the requested parameter value or “OK” for commands that return nothing.
• A “status” value of “fail” indicates that there was an error. In this case, the “data” key will contain a string describing the failure.
• UDP Socket Example
• A UDP message with an ASCII (UTF-8) text string containing the command to be executed should be sent to port 1993 on the AFD.

1. Requesting a parameter Send string:
   1. /afd/commandForce
   2. Reply string:
   3. {“data”:{“/afd/commandForce”:12.0000},”status”:”success”}
2. Setting a parameter Send string: 
   1. /afd/deviceName=fred
   2. Reply string:
   3. {“data”:{“/afd/deviceName”:”OK”},”status”:”success”}
3. Command Failure Send string: 
   1. /afd/badCommand=24.2
   2. Reply string:
   3. {“data”:{“/afd/badCommand”:”Error: RpcObject[1]: Unknown Method”},”status”:”fail”}

Web Request Example

• A request can be sent from a web browser to the AFD with a URL string containing the command to be executed.
• Requesting a parameter
  • Send string:
  • http://afd-00000/afd/commandForce
  • Reply string:
  • {“data”:{“commandForce”:12.0000},”status”:”success”}
• Setting a parameter Send string: 
  • http://afd-00000/afd/deviceName=fred
  • Reply string:
  • {“data”:{“/afd/deviceName”:”OK”},”status”:”success”}

AFD Command Descriptions

• The parameters and commands of the AFD are organized in a hierarchical directory tree structure to access various system components, as shown below: /afd (or “/”) /afd/net
• The top-level or root is the initial working directory and allows access to the AFD top-level commands. The root directory can also be accessed either explicitly by “/afd” or by its default alias “/”.
• A command or parameter can always be accessed by specifying its complete canonical name starting from the root. For example, to access the AFD’s Serial Number, the canonical command would be “/afd/serialNo”.

The parameters and commands themselves are descriptive “Camel Case” strings (individual words delineated by capital letters, e.g. “camelCase”) and starting with a lower case letter. The command or parameter can be abbreviated by using the first letter followed by each of the remaining capitalized letters. For example, the “weighingInProgress” parameter is abbreviated “wip”. If there are no capital letters, then the entire parameter or command name must be used.

AFD Root Commands

AFD Network Commands

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE SCHEDULE

It is highly recommended to adhere to the preventative maintenance schedule in order to help extend the longevity of the specified PushCorp, Inc. equipment. Failing to do so could cause a loss in functionality as well as a decrease in product life.

Troubleshooting

Specific troubleshooting steps are not detailed in the provided text. However, the following general advice applies:

• Warranty Voidance: Non-compliance with air supply requirements (dry, non-lubricated, filtered 80 psi max, 0.3 micron oil mist separator) will void the manufacturer’s warranty.
• Cable Damage: Cable damage due to exceeding the minimum bending radius (125mm / 5 in) will not be covered under warranty.
• General Malfunctions: For issues not related to air supply or cable damage, refer to the full owner’s manual or contact PushCorp, Inc. for support.