Automated Cells and Equipment (ACE), located in Painted Post, New York is a pneumatic robotics integrator that provides various products and services to customers in the automation industry. ACE’s vast product range includes deburring machines, press loaders and press extraction robots, to name only a few. Aside from its products, ACE also offers class-like training sessions and robotic programming, service and repair.

One press-extraction robot sold by ACE, known as model 605A, uses a servo-driven axis to pick a part, raise it and place it on a catch chute. The machine, commonly known as a pick-and-place, has many beneficial features such as quick-changing gripper fingers, a programmable main servo axis and a six-inch monochrome touch-screen interface. Customers can have the machine tailored to their specific needs and often invest more than $45,000 during the buying process.

Even with the robots’ unique and precise functioning, downtime was still an issue for some of ACE’s customers. Bearings inside a cylinder crucial to the functionality of the robots were failing after just 15,000 cycles, a minimal amount of operation time for some end-users who maintain 16-24 hour operations. During the search for a solution, ACE tested the products of four major bearings suppliers, finally settling on igus ® iglide ® J plastic bearings because of their exceptional performance.

ACE has been an igus customer for close to three and half years, equipping the cylinder of every 605A robot with four iglide J bearings. The igus bearings provide superior performance and operate flawlessly, even in the excessive amount of dirt and heat encountered, lasting more than two million cycles, with no signs of stopping. ACE and its customers experience multiple benefits from the switch, such as extended service life, better performance, reduced in-the-field maintenance and the near elimination of downtime.

Mike Lucey, an engineer at ACE, believes the outstanding service life of iglide bearings is the biggest advantage for both his company and its customers.

“The iglide bearings outperformed the competition immensely, especially on the number of cycles. The extended life is a definite plus for our customers. Downtime has almost been eliminated and the iglide J is lasting almost 150 times the number of cycles as the original bearings,” said Lucey.

He continued by adding, “Iglide J makes our machines perform ten times better. By becoming an igus customer, we have been able to reduce the number of service visits and in turn have happier customers. The lightweight plastic also reduced the weight of the robot, allowing it to move faster by taking the burden off the other components.”

By using iglide J, ACE sees returns that are two-fold. The company saves time and money, while at the same time saving time and money for its customer. ACE intends to continue replacing the 605A cylinder bearings with iglide J and is confident the bearings will continue to deliver a first-rate performance.