Application examples of handling solutions in the medical & pharmaceutical industry
In the following, we will discuss some current application examples in these industries. For example, a swiss pharmaceutical company - uses grippers of the Zimmer Group's electric grippers series. These support the analysis of coronavirus samples in a fully automated system for laboratory diagnostics. Grippers of the same type are currently used in coronavirus test centers in China. The electrically driven grippers for small parts, which are very easy to control, are responsible for sample handling, e.g. reliable transport and safe opening of the lids of highly infectious sample tubes. For these special tasks, the grippers offer adjustable gripping forces via IO-Link between 40 N and 500 N and jaw strokes between six and sixteen millimeters. In addition, the electrical grippers are equipped with a mechanical self-locking mechanism that prevents the highly infectious sample tubes from being lost or dropped, for example in the event of a power failure. In this way, the grippers hold the sample firmly - even without power supply. Another reason that convinced the customer was their maximum robustness and reliability. The housing of the electric grippers are made of hard-anodized aluminum, and the Zimmer Group's developers used a flat guide system that has been tried and tested for decades. This allows 10 million cycles to be handled without maintenance.
For a German medical technology manufacturer, our handling solutions are used in systems for filling sterile solutions (dialysis, bag filling with sugar solution). Another example is our customer which is global healthcare company. Here, our radial grippers are used for the loading and handling of so-called EasyBags - liquid food for ventilated corona patients, among others.
In addition to liquid food, monitoring systems for corona patients are also essential for survival, but who is supposed to operate these devices in pandemic times, when it is particularly important to keep a distance between patients. The company Cobot Team from Portland, Oregon, has come up with the right ideas. The result is a collaborative robot (Cobot) with a special HRC (human-robot-collaboration) gripper from Zimmer Group. It now supports the hospital staff, among other things, in adjusting the amount of oxygen for a COVID-19 patient.
Another application example - this time without corona cover - comes from Tunisia. Here, grippers and swivel units of the Zimmer Group automate a cleaning machine for sterile glass vials for the company SEA electronics . They used grippers of the GPP5000 series with their robust, hard-coated steel-in-steel linear guide were designed for real universal use. Depending on the variant, they have a number of features (speed, high gripping forces, long gripper jaw lengths) and thus offer the right solution for every application. When used with a protector, the grippers have a sealing class of IP67 - ideal for use in clean rooms or in the damp environment of the cleaning machine.
Application examples from other technology areas of the Zimmer Group
In addition to fitting patients with prostheses using our damping technology components (PowerStop dampers for the med-tech company Ottobock it is also worth mentioning that we also manufacture our own products, which minimize the risk of corona infection.
Zimmer Kunststofftechnik GmbH - a subsidiary of the Zimmer Group - recently introduced a hygienic and antibacterial attachment for door openers. The hygienic door opener Hand-Held allows doors to be opened and closed with the elbow or forearm. This reduces the spread of microorganisms and minimizes the risk of infection. The Hand-Held is compatible with most door handles, easy to install, quick to clean and is suitable for use in companies, authorities, public buildings, clinics or in private environments.
