How is the XTS transforming industrial production?

The high dynamic performance of the XTS enables high cycle rates of up to 4 m/s.

Even delicate products can be transported quickly: the speed of each individual mover can be continuously adjusted at any point along the XTS track. This makes acceleration and braking very smooth, even under high dynamic conditions on the tracks in between.

The XTS can be used to create a continuous transport path. Unlike conventional linear transport systems, there are no empty return trips; instead, a continuous product flow is established, enabling higher cycle rates.

In plants with conventional transport systems, the slowest process station determines the entire product flow – often slowing it down. With the XTS, each product can be controlled individually because the individual movers can be operated independently of each other. The rigid product line is disrupted – the slowest process station can be duplicated.

“Waiting” products are buffered between stations, thanks in part to the individually controlled XTS movers.

With minimal gaps, the XTS can accommodate more products on the transport system. Center-to-center distances of up to 56 mm are achievable.

By using an XTS stack, i.e., systems built on top of each other, the distance between products can be halved again. Precise software control ensures that the products transported on two or more tracks are treated as a single product flow in the process.

The XTS generally requires very little production space because it is compact: depending on the mover guide, the system is only 7 or 12 cm wide.

The XTS offers a high degree of flexibility in terms of the overall system geometry. Motor modules in various shapes give rise to highly customized routes.

The modular system is based on the 250 mm straight module. It is supplemented by curved modules with different radii as well as longer and shorter straight modules. This allows the transport route to be tailored to the process, thus making optimal use of the available space. The size of a system and the number of movers are virtually unlimited: XTS systems with a track length of 95 meters have already been implemented.

With the XTS, a product buffer can be designed to be very space-efficient by making individual sections of the track movable. The products being buffered are moved to these sections and the tracks are moved out of the immediate production flow. Spindle axes or linear motors are used for this purpose.

The mover’s load capacity depends on the set of magnetic plates it is equipped with. For heavier products, a stronger set of magnetic plates is selected, which in most cases involves using a wider mover.

In a circular transport system, a single mover can transport up to 20 kg. The software allows several movers to be coupled. This means they can carry n times 20 kg.

With certain XTS configurations, each mover can handle loads of up to 100 kg.

The XTS's repeat accuracy is 10 µm. The XTS offers a standard synchronization accuracy of 150 µm, which can be reduced to as little as 50 µm through customized measures.

The precise control of the XTS movers allows them to work together, for example, to clamp a product for transport. The individual movements of the movers also allow the product to be gripped.

Due in part to its flexible installation position, the XTS can replace mechanical systems if, for example, an XTS tilted at a 45° angle can rotate the product.

The software can be used to increase or decrease the distance between the movers, making it very easy to adapt to narrower or wider products quickly.

Even if a product is being transported by two cooperating movers, format changes can be performed using software: the distance between the movers is increased or decreased, and production can resume without a long standstill.

To integrate a safe manual workstation or to discharge products, specific sections of the travel path are moved (e.g., using a spindle axis or linear motor). This is how movers leave the actual production section, or switch between different XTS tracks.

The motor modules and movers remain fully operational at all times, as the software also controls the moving track sections, ensuring that they remain fully usable.

Thanks to the individual movement profiles of the movers and the flexible software-based control, the processing steps each product should undergo can be specified. Process stations are swapped out as needed and are correctly identified and controlled by the XTS software.

The XTS with NCT offers contactless transmission of energy and data to an actuator on the mover. This can be a vacuum pump or a gripper. This allows process steps to be carried out during transport.

The XTS is also capable of meeting future/changing production requirements, as it can be adapted to other products. In many cases, these adaptations are implemented solely through software updates.

Constant development of the technology (hardware and software) means that new benefits are continually being offered to users.

Full compatibility between motor modules with different technical properties allows for future modifications within existing systems. Both older and newer hardware and software can be combined without any complications or additional effort.