With Festo balancer kit drive solution, lift up to 999 kg at the touch of a finger

Balancer kits make lifting heavy loads like wheel assemblies much easier and safer. Festo’s new, economical YHBP drive system offers an optimal combination of high power and reliability with fingertip control and automatic weight detection.

Mississauga, ON, July 2020 – Servo-pneumatic balancers make it possible for employees performing assembly and logistical tasks to move heavy loads with minimal exertion. A balancer is only as good as its drive package. Festo’s new, economical YHBP drive system offers an optimal combination in balancer capabilities. It delivers high power and reliability with fingertip control and automatic weight detection, and can be configured for safety up to the industrial gold standard of Performance Level d.

With YHBP drive packages, moving loads of 70-999 kg can be performed with an actuating force of only 10 N – a touch of a finger is sufficient to carry out tasks such as loading and unloading, stacking and destacking, rotating, swivelling and tilting, and assembly functions in production lines like those in auto plants.

Each YHBP is controlled using a pneumatically activated “smart” handle and control system that detects whether the user wants to move the load up or down. With extremely fast automatic weight detection, it adjusts immediately for the payload weight. It also takes into account weight changes in the suspended state.

YHBP drive packages are available in basic and safety configurations. The safety variant achieves Performance Level d thanks to dual-channel speed monitoring and power shutdown. This ensures it is always brought to a safe state in the event of a faulty component. Dangerous movements are also prevented should there be a voltage failure or sudden drop in pressure.

YHBP systems are suitable for new installations and retrofitting in all conventional balancer kinematics like lifting columns or parallel kinematics, whether standing or hanging.

Festo’s online YHBP configurator – www.festo.com/YHBP-configuration – allows users to choose the required safety Performance Level (b or d) and define the stroke and diameter of the working cylinder.

YHBP drive packages consist of a pneumatic ISO cylinder, a displacement encoder, a balancer valve unit, a pneumatically operated handle and a balancer controller. The controller comes with pre-installed balancer software with browser-based web visualisation for commissioning and diagnostics. The safety variant also includes a sensor interface and a safety relay that acts as a speed monitor.

Festo at a glance

Festo, the world’s leading supplier of automation technology and technical education, is deploying its products and services to meet the challenges of digitization and smart production. Founded in 1925, the family owned company based in Esslingen, Germany supports a wide range of needs for advanced solutions in factory and process automation. In Canada, Festo has been supporting Canadian industry for over 40 years, continuously elevating the state of manufacturing in this country with innovative products, optimized motion control solutions and unrivalled support. Globally, some 300,000 customers put their trust in the company’s pneumatic and electric drive products and technology. In addition, Festo Didactic provides state-of-the-art training equipment and educational programs for industrial companies and educational institutions. The Festo Group registered sales of around €3.2 billion in the 2018 financial year and is represented worldwide at 250 locations with a total of 20,200 employees. About 8% of its annual turnover is invested in research and development.

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