ENERGY EFFICIENCY AS A STRATEGIC GOAL OF YASKAWA MOTOMAN

Yaskawa has offered a conventional technological solution without the need for additional hardware to recover the robot’s braking energy and transfer it to the power grid. All Motoman robots in the larger series, with payloads up to about 50 kg, including the latest YRC1000 robot controllers, are able to immediately convert the kinetic energy of regenerative movements into 400 V AC at 50 Hz and return it to the mains. Depending on how it moves, the robot consumes much less energy.
Industrial robots perform various dynamic lateral or downward braking movements when handling, palletising, connecting and processing objects. Servomotors can produce electricity by dissipating energy while performing these movements.
Today, the energy generated was transformed into heat through the electrical resistance in earlier robot models or other commercial versions, and then released into the environment.
To address this problem, Yaskawa recycles electrical energy without the need for additional equipment. It is now possible to recover the energy, return it to the grid and power other energy consumers thanks to servo controllers.
In this respect, the amount of savings in each case depends mainly on the work and movement patterns of each robot, but savings of 5 to 8% can be expected in spot welding applications and 15 to 25% in handling and palletising. This can result in savings of approximately 2,800 kWh per year, 1,600 kg of CO2 and 1,200 euros, according to figures from Yaskawa‘s European headquarters in Germany.
Thanks to their low moving masses and quick application of the brakes between movement intervals to switch off the active position control when not in use, Motoman robots are both energy-efficient and compact. Energy savings are also possible thanks to intelligent operator control techniques, which, for example, can enable robots to switch off automatically during planned breaks.
Energy-efficient solutions such as this are an essential component of Yaskawa’s global business strategy, as is the company’s dedication to environmental stewardship through environmentally friendly operational strategies. By 2030, the company aims to use only renewable energy and have a CO2-neutral production. The 17 UN sustainability goals serve as a focal point for the Yaskawa Group’s initiatives.