Our “Cranebot” robot crane featured on the Basque Business Blog
2 / 04 / 2020
Discover the advantages and possibilities of our smart crane for industrial process automation in the article “JASO and Tecnalia turn industrial cranes into robots” published by the SPRI Group.
March 31, 2020 | The Basque Business Blog – SPRI
Jaso and Tecnalia transform industrial cranes into robots
This new development opens a wide range of possibilities for automating manual and precision processes, such as the automated polishing of wind turbine blades.
Robotics, already widespread in sectors like automotive, is expanding into new fields. Jaso Industrial Cranes, founded in Gipuzkoa in 1965 and a leader in the lifting sector, has developed a solution in collaboration with the Tecnalia technology centre that, in short, “robotizes a crane.” They are the first to achieve this milestone.
The result stems from the combination of Tecnalia’s expertise in cable technology and Jaso’s extensive experience in the lifting industry. As a result, the crane is no longer limited to vertical and horizontal movements; its freedom of action and, above all, its precision are significantly increased. Cable-driven technology allows the crane to handle heavy or bulky components with a margin of +/- 2 millimetres and full 6-degree-of-freedom control in part orientation. The project has been named ‘Cranebot’ (robot-crane).
Applications and Impact What are the applications of this breakthrough? There are many across various sectors. The first tested application is in the wind power industry, specifically for a specialized task: polishing wind turbine blades during manufacturing.
“Today, as blades become increasingly larger, this task is still performed manually by most manufacturers. With this new system, the process is automated, improving both quality and safety—reducing workplace accidents by 50%—while cutting costs by 20% and increasing productivity by 50%. The prototype has already proven effective and has moved into the commercialization phase,” explains Raúl Fernández Niso, Sales and Marketing Director at Jaso Industrial Cranes.
Future Prospects The new ‘Cranebot’ was scheduled for its public debut at the LogiMAT fair in Stuttgart. However, following the event’s rescheduling, the new development from Jaso and Tecnalia will be presented at Metal Madrid and the Bilbao International Machine Tool Biennial (BIEMH).
The development has a broad roadmap ahead. Beyond the wind sector, it offers extensive applications in foundries (for mold handling), aerospace, civil engineering, and logistics. In general, it targets any field involving the automation of manual processes, precision operations, large-part positioning, 3D printing in construction, and injection molding.
About JASO Jaso operates two divisions—Industrial Cranes, headquartered in Itsasondo, and Tower Cranes, in Idiazabal—employing a total of 600 people. The Gipuzkoa-based company has been internationalized for over 25 years and exports 70% of its production. In the industrial area alone, it has plants in Mexico, Argentina, and India, with 350 employees. Throughout its expansion and Industry 4.0 innovation projects, it has been supported by SPRI through programs such as Hazitek.
Read the full article at: http://www.spri.eus/en/basque-industry-communication/jaso-tecnalia-turn-industrial-cranes-into-robots/
