Rack and Pinion Gears Optimize Pick-and-Place Applications

Alternative to Robot Use Rack and Pinion Gears Optimize Pick-and-Place Applications

2025-05-09 Source: Leantechnik | Translated by AI 4 min Reading Time

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Pick-and-place and handling tasks are usually performed by robots in the industry. Leantechnik's portal systems can do the same and have an additional advantage: the Leantechnik P&P systems are custom-made and therefore optimally meet the requirements of the respective application.

Leantechnik specifically designed the palletizer for blister handling. It is used in numerous applications, including in the pharmaceutical industry.(Image: Leantechnik) — Leantechnik specifically designed the palletizer for blister handling. It is used in numerous applications, including in the pharmaceutical industry.
(Image: Leantechnik)

A good example of a pick-and-place application is placing finished products into blisters—for instance, in the pharmaceutical industry. Here, both speed and accuracy are equally important. A robotic arm picks up a raw part from a blister, places it onto a conveyor belt for further processing, and simultaneously retrieves the finished products from the belt to place them back into the blister. Since the processes in this application are relatively simple, robots are well-suited for this task. However, the steel helpers have one disadvantage: they are quite expensive and thus unaffordable for many companies.

Innovative Plant Concept Replaces Robots

The automation specialist Leantechnik recognized a market gap several years ago. The designers developed a cost-effective and precisely operating pick-and-place system that operates entirely without robots. All they needed were the robust, high-precision rack and pinion drives from their own production. The engineers and technicians were also not lacking in experience in plant construction, as they regularly design custom handling and positioning systems for a wide range of industries.

Gallery

Leantechnik designed the Bumper Conveyor for a car manufacturer: the system quickly and precisely moves bumpers from one processing station to the next.(Image: Leantechnik)

The lifgo rack and pinion gears from Leantechnik were developed for the precise positioning of heavy loads. They are used, among other things, in pick-and-place applications as well as in transfer and portal systems.(Image: Leantechnik)

Under the name Leantechnik Unique, Leantechnik also develops custom rack and pinion gears, for example, for the food industry.(Image: Leantechnik)

Gallery with 8 images

Position With the Highest Precision

Designer Lukas Piofczyk and his colleagues designed a Leantechnik P&P system consisting of a 3-axis gripper arm and a 2-axis palletizer. They were based on proven lifgo linear and lifgo double rack and pinion drives. The lifgo drives can precisely and synchronously position even heavy loads, as they feature a quadruple roller guide. The drives are available in various versions with lifting forces ranging from 450 to 5,600 lbf and offer lifting speeds of up to 10 ft/s.

Even Long Travel Distances are Not a Problem

Lifgo linear rack and pinion gears are specifically suitable for applications with long stroke and travel paths and can be used either with a fixed rack or with a fixed gearbox and movable rack. To handle long travel distances, multi-piece racks can be used.

For the gripping movement of the Leantechnik P&P system, lifgo double rack and pinion drives are used. These drives are equipped with two rack gears arranged parallel to each other. A pinion inside the drive moves the racks, which move in opposite directions. Both the lifgo linear and lifgo double drives are installed in the pick-and-place system in size 5.3, which has a lifting force of 3,570 lbf.

Always in Rhythm: Gantry System for Car Production

Handling systems for the automotive industry must also be fast and highly precise. The tight production timing can only be maintained if the individual components are ready for further processing just in time and exactly at the intended position. Leantechnik has been developing shuttle and positioning systems for renowned car manufacturers for many years, which fulfill exactly this task. These include systems that enable the production of various body variants on a single line, as well as a Leantechnik gantry system for transporting bumpers.

Fast Transport of Bumpers

The so-called Bumper Conveyor moves the bumpers from one processing station to the next. It lifts two bumpers each from the holder where they were parked after the previous manufacturing step. The system then places the bumpers on a kind of shuttle, moves them to the next station, and transfers them to a holder there.

As with the Leantechnik P&P system, lifgo 5.3 rack and pinion gears also form the heart of the Bumper Conveyor. The gears ensure precise and rapid execution of movements in the longitudinal and transverse directions. By using the lifgo gears, the conveyor achieves a positioning accuracy of

0.002 in at the component holder, a repeatability of 0.0008 in, and travel speeds of up to 10 ft/s.

Individual Adjustment of the Gears is Possible

Leantechnik supplies both rack and pinion drives as well as customized handling, positioning, and shuttle systems. The drives are manufactured using a modular principle, allowing them to be combined in any way. With flexible mounting on any of the four sides of the drive, the addition of accessories such as suction cups or grippers, and an individually adjustable backlash (eccentric version), the drives can also be customized to meet specific customer requirements.

In addition to the already mentioned lifgo rack and pinion drives, Leantechnik also offers the lean SL series. These drives were developed for synchronous lifting tasks where lateral force absorption is already present. They are suitable for all applications where guidance is already available. The lean SL rack and pinion drives are available in various sizes and in two versions, can accommodate lifting forces from 180 to 5,600 lbf, and reach lifting speeds of up to 2 ft/s. Besides the standard model, there is also a variant for gripping and centering movements.

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Special Designs for Special Applications

Under the name Leantechnik Unique, the company from Oberhausen (Germany), also designs rack and pinion drives precisely according to customer specifications. This includes, among other things, surface finishing with a thin chrome coating or by browning: these processes protect the drive not only from corrosion but also from aggressive cleaning agents, as used, for instance, in the food industry.

Leantechnik also develops complete rack and pinion drives according to individual specifications—such as the extremely compact lean SL 5.m. This drive was specially designed for a chocolate manufacturer who was looking for the smallest possible drive for their quality control system. It was intended to guide a stainless steel tip into the liquid chocolate to take a sample for the in-house laboratory. The lean SL 5.m fulfilled its task so successfully that it has now become part of Leantechnik's standard range.