Autonomously, without preparation time and without programming, the K900 industrial robot cleans floors where it should - even in places where it is potentially dangerous or even impossible for people to do so. The igus lubrication-free linear guides, shafts, plain and fixed flange bearings, that are available from Treotham also play a decisive role.
KEMARO AG was founded in August 2016 by three engineers Armin Koller, Thomas Oberholzer and Martin Gadient from Eastern Switzerland. The company is headquartered in Eschlikon, Thurgau, and currently employs 13 people. With the K800, the young company launched the world's first autonomous dry-cleaning robot for industrial use. "We wanted to develop a product that the world needed, was technically mature, optimised processes and helped save money and time - and thus the idea of a cleaning robot for the industry was born", says Martin Gadient, co-founder of KEMARO AG and in charge of the Mechanics & Production division. The company has been on the market with the successor model K900 since 2020.
Plug in, load and clean
Whether it's a warehouse, production facility or industrial plant, the K900 cleans without chemicals or water, leaving the floor dry and clean. Due to its low installation height, the robot cleans even in places that are hard to reach or dangerous for people to access. Commissioning is very easy and fast, and does not require any preparation time or programming. Simply place the K900 in the desired location, plug it in, charge it and the autonomous cleaning can begin. "With the purchase of a K900, companies save massive cleaning costs. Furthermore, they protect the health of employees by reducing fine-dust pollution and dispensing with chemical cleaning agents. Another plus is that the acquisition of a cleaning robot allows the workforce to concentrate fully on their value-adding activities again", says Martin Gadient. The sweeping robot is designed for cleaning areas of up to 10,000m2. It has a battery run time of up to five hours, an integrated dust extraction system, a cleaning width of 90cm and a dirt container with a capacity of 35litres. "As it travels, our robot, creates its own cleaning map, identifies and bypasses fixed and mobile objects and cleans its environment completely independently. In the case of cleaning robots for the industry, we are currently the only ones on the global market that can simply place the robot in a room and start it at the push of a button. There is no need for prior space measurement or teach-in", the co-founder adds. To make the robot mobile, it has a trolley handle that is guided cleanly, strongly and safely with a drylinT linear guide from igus.
Lubrication-free and maintenance-free linear guides made to measure
"From my past work as a development engineer, I already knew the products from igus, and my experiences with them had always been good. For our size and the confined space conditions, we needed a strong and robust linear guide made to measure. So we contacted igus and a short time later, we ordered a sample of the desired linear guide for testing from their website", says Gadient. Axel Ebert, Key Account Manager Bearing Technology at igus Switzerland, adds: "You can easily order a sample from us via our website - also made to measure and according to customer drawings. Due to the required strength, we decided on a drylin T linear guide in HD (heavy duty) version in coordination with KEMARO AG." Profile guides of the drylin T type are dimensionally identical to the usual lubricated ball guides. In contrast, noise emissions are reduced with the drylin T guides, as is the surface pressure due to the larger contact surface between the guide and the profile rail. In the heavy-duty version, the slides have a very firm hold in the carriage body. The drylin T carriage guides can handle loads of up to 14,000N, are extremely insensitive to dirt and have a very long service life. "That's another advantage of igus products - they're all lubrication-free and therefore ideal for our application. The customer never has to lubricate, so no dust sticks to the guides and no abrasive paste can form", says Gadient. Aluminium is used for the shaft material. "At first we had a chrome steel shaft that we kept having problems with. Axel Ebert then suggested an aluminium shaft from the igus portfolio. Initially, I was very sceptical, but after the first test I was already completely thrilled. It is not only lighter, but also easier to assemble and works perfectly", Gadient said. Speaking of lubricant-free: in addition to the carriage guidance, igus’ fixed flange bearings, plain bearings and thrust washers are also used in the sweeping robot. "Our igubal spherical bearings, which are used in the roller brush bearing, are maintenance-free, self-aligning bearing elements made entirely of plastic. In addition, the entire igubal joint system is insensitive to dust and dirt, resistant to corrosion, and 80 percent lighter than metal bearings", says Daniel Henlin, Sales Manager at igus Switzerland, emphasising the advantages of the spherical bearings made of high-performance plastics.
Conclusion
By using the lubrication-free bearing technology from igus, those in charge at KEMARO AG were able to make their autonomous sweeping robot a bit quieter, more robust, lighter and also more durable. In addition, it required less maintenance. "The collaboration with igus is as one would wish. The advice is top-class and the price-performance ratio is right. But above all, the quality of the used products is convincing, and this in turn increases the quality of our product", concluded Martin Gadient.
The drylin linear guides from igus are available from Treotham Automation.
Contact:
Treotham Automation
0800 847 200
