The advancements made in recent years in the field of robotics have contributed to success in many industries, from boosting productivity to reducing the costs of production to creating life-saving medical technology. For example, highly advanced Falk gearboxes are used as part of the driving units of movable parts in medical equipment.
The Falk gearbox serves as the heart of any robotic device that allows mechanical motion. As part of the drivetrain for many devices, gearboxes are continuing to evolve to support the functionality of these new applications. In order to do what is required by the jobs gearboxes must be lighter, stronger, faster, and smaller.
These gearboxes are held to the highest standards of reliability. Falk gearboxes are able to be applied to a wide variety of devices, each with its own requirements of size, speed, materials used, load capacity, and noise levels produced.
Trends in Modern Gearbox Design
There are two main trends among modern gearboxes that have proven important to the advancement of robotic applications: customization and integration. By being able to maximize efficiency of existing technologies manufacturers can effectively do more with less. This allows manufacturers to increase the capabilities of the gearbox without adding space or cost. “For instance, by changing the bearing design, the gearbox can handle more radial or axial load. Or by adding an additional planet gear, the gearbox can handle more torque, without increasing the size.”
A completely custom gearbox can create an even more compact and efficient solution for the problem. “As robot manufacturers continue to develop new solutions that improve a process or task, customization and integration of gearbox components will continue to be at the heart of innovation.”
The Use of Robots in the Medical Industry
The ability of gearboxes to create great rotational forces make them vital to creating advancements in the medical community. A huge array of items use Falk gearboxes, including surgical tables, x-ray scanners, medical pumps, wheelchairs, and robotic surgical arms. Falk products are uniquely suited for these applications because of:
- Their long operating life
- Low heat generation
- Smooth and quiet operation
- Lightweight and compact design
- Efficiency
- Low vibration
- Accuracy
These qualities all contribute to the robotics revolution taking place in the medical industry, and especially in the operating room. Robot-assisted surgeries more than tripled between 2008 and 2012. A surgical robot called Da Vinci can be found in one in four U.S. hospitals, and “robotic surgical devices are now routinely used for general surgery, pediatric surgery gynecology, urology and more.” As these devices become more ubiquitous, as much as one third of surgeries in the U.S. “may be performed via robot with a surgeon guiding their mechanical arms from a computer console.”
The FDA sets meticulous safety standards to help keep patients safe and surgeries successful. Devices also undergo “rigorous testing, during which they must continue to operate accurately; a single error can send engineers back to the drawing board.” The reliability of Falk products ensures top-notch performance.
Gearboxes increase the power or torque of a motor that allows for increasingly small motors to create strong and powerful devices. These devices not only fit within the operating room, but are also able to perform complex operations with precision. A new development in gearboxes is to use magnetic technology to amplify the output of the motor, and stackable motors that allow for greater flexibility in robotic arms. Gearboxes such as these can be used in exoskeletons to help restore walking to those who have lost major strength in their legs.
Falk gearboxes are a diverse and powerful kind of gearbox when applied to a wide range of robotics. The future is bright with Falk gearboxes!
Posted under Falk Gearboxes on Thursday, May 9th, 2019