Freudenberg Produces Seals for Robotics - The Fully Automatic Employee

What is now fairly new territory in general industry has long been routine for automakers. But the demand for industrial robots is rising, with hints of annual double-digit growth rates. With Industry 4.0, the so-called fourth Industrial Revolution, automation, networking and intelligent production processes are all the rage. Stable processes are needed for small production runs and high flexibility.

Freudenberg Sealing Technologies (FST) is looking ahead to outstanding opportunities in the robotics market. “In some cases, more than 80 seals are at work in a single articulated robot,” said Dimitrios Tsituridis, who is responsible for FST’s robotics field services. Articulated robots have swivel joints, which means they can move their arms in three directions with the help of their three pivot points. This makes them suitable for diverse application areas. But they also need sophisticated seals that can handle the many different movements.

“Our customers expect that seals will outlast the maintenance interval of at least 10,000 to 13,000 hours. In cooperation with customers, we are now working on products that double that lifespan.” Whether welding or soldering, packaging, painting or coating, the new robots can do a great deal.

Freudenberg sells flat gaskets, valve stem seals, O-rings and spacer rings that – figuratively speaking – are used in the wrist, upper and lower arm, elbow and shoulder, as well as the waist and the robot base. Achim Ströhle, Segment Director, Machine & Power Tools spelled out the complexity: “The oscillating movements of the robot – it doesn’t make 360-degree movements but moves back and forth – require special materials and specific product designs.”

These state-of-the-art machines do astonishing things. “An industrial robot is virtually an electronically controlled multipurpose manual worker, for which two or more axes can be programmed,” said Tsituridis. These artificial workers do their jobs very precisely and produce a consistent high quality. Since they don’t need breaks, sleep or vacations, they can work at a constant pace and thus accelerate production throughput times. They can also be used in areas associated with certain potential hazards to employees.

Their job is moving from worker to “overseer.” The content of manufacturing work is becoming more demanding. More knowledge must be built into the automation. A new industry offering high-quality jobs has emerged with the latest robots. Completely new jobs now involve the design, engineering, production, marketing, installation and maintenance of robots.

Customers in the machine tools segment have production facilities throughout world and are pressing ahead with their development activities globally. “They also expect a global presence from their suppliers,” Ströhle said. To be sure, Freudenberg primarily supplies the end customers’ suppliers – for example, manufacturers of transmissions and electric motors – yet is actively involved in new robotic developments.