This is the most effective way to improve the rotary book stacking robot! Innovation Practice of Zhejiang Xinhua Digital

In the current wave of intelligent transformation in the printing industry, the rotary book stack robot, as a key equipment for book and magazine printing production, is playing an irreplaceable role. It not only significantly improves production efficiency, but also ensures the stability of product quality through precise and automated operations. However, with the diversification of market demand and the complexity of production environments, traditional rotary book stacking robots have gradually exposed problems such as high energy consumption, large footprint, and insufficient flexibility. How to achieve cost reduction and efficiency improvement while ensuring efficient production has become an urgent issue in the industry.
Limitations and Challenges of Traditional Solutions
Traditional rotary book stacking robots often adopt long arm extension and high load design to meet the high stacking height requirements. The arm span of such robots is usually above 2500mm, the end load capacity exceeds 50kg, and the power is generally above 13kW. Although it performs well in terms of palletizing efficiency and stability, there are also significant issues.
(1) High energy consumption and operating costs: Due to its complex structure and heavy load, the long arm exhibition robot has high energy consumption and significantly increased operating costs.
(2) Large footprint and insufficient flexibility: The large body not only occupies valuable workshop space, but also limits its application in narrow environments.
(3) Resource waste: For slower printing machines, the efficient stacking capability of traditional rotary book stacking robots may exceed actual production needs, resulting in energy and equipment waste.
Innovative Solutions
Practice of reducing costs and increasing efficiency through small efforts

In response to the above issues, Gaodeng Company has launched a six axis small robot with a load of 30kg and an arm span of 1800mm, providing a new solution for the rotating book stacking scene. However, in our actual use, we found that its arm span is too short to directly meet the high stacking requirements. To this end, the author led the organization of Zhejiang Xinhua Digital Technology Team and Gaodeng Company to carry out technical research and development. After nearly half a year, they jointly developed innovative solutions and successfully broke through this technological bottleneck. After improvement, the robotic arm power of this robot is only 5.5kW, which has the advantages of small size, light weight, and low energy consumption. It not only meets our usage needs, but also achieves cost reduction and efficiency improvement.
01/Optimize fixture design to reduce load
Lightweight design of the robot fixture mechanism significantly reduces weight, thereby reducing the load requirements of the robot. This optimization not only improves the operational efficiency of the robot, but also further reduces energy consumption.
Taking the two rotary book posting fixtures launched by Gordon Company as an example, Figure 1 shows the first 100kg rotary book posting fixture designed by Gordon Company, which can hold up to 4 hands and 16 openings, and is applied to Gordon's 100kg industrial robot; Figure 2 shows the new generation 30kg rotary book pasting fixture of Gaodeng Company, which can hold up to 2 hands and 16 openings, and is applied to Gaodeng's independently developed seven axis 30kg industrial robot. Compared to the 100kg rotary book pasting fixture, the 30kg rotary book pasting fixture has a smaller volume, clever design, and uses higher quality and lighter base materials, reducing the proportion of the fixture's load at the end of the robot, increasing the weight of the book being picked up (increasing the number of stickers), fully utilizing the performance of the robot, and improving work efficiency.
Comparing Figure 1 and Figure 2, it is evident that the 30kg rotary book pasting fixture has 5 fewer connecting strips, resulting in a reduction in part size and a more compact structure, which significantly reduces the weight of the fixture; Comparing Figure 1 and Figure 2 with the installation hole design connected to the end of the robot (marked with circles), the installation hole of the 100kg rotary book clip fixture is located in the center, with a large robot load and sufficient arm span, and is not affected during palletizing. However, the installation hole of the 30kg rotary book clip fixture is moved forward, which allows the fixture to be neatly placed at the edge of the pallet during palletizing, compensating for the defect of insufficient arm span of the robot.

Figure 1 Schematic diagram of 100kg rotary book pasting fixture structure

Figure 2 Schematic diagram of 30kg rotary book sticker fixture structure
02/Introducing lifting mechanism to expand application scope
To solve the problem of insufficient arm span, we designed to install the small robot on a lifting mechanism with a power of 1.8 kW. When the stacking height reaches half of the design height, the lifting mechanism automatically rises to compensate for the limitations of the robot arm extension. This design results in a total power of only 7.3 kW for the robot, and due to the short operating time of the lifting mechanism, the actual operating power remains stable at around 6 kW, with significantly lower energy consumption than traditional robots.
Taking the two industrial robots currently produced by Gaodeng Company as an example, Figure 3 shows the schematic diagram of the 100kg industrial robot structure, and Figure 4 shows the schematic diagram of the seven axis 30kg industrial robot structure. The difference between the two is not only reflected in the load, but also in the 30kg industrial robot having an additional lifting axis (as indicated in Figure 4), which effectively compensates for the shortcomings of the existing industrial robot arm span and improves the palletizing efficiency. Although a 100kg industrial robot has sufficient arm span and high stacking height, its cost is relatively high. If only 30kg industrial robots are selected, the stacking height cannot meet the requirements of conventional customer workshops, and the flexibility of use is insufficient, which is not conducive to subsequent captain training. However, adding robots with lifting axes has a simple and flexible stacking style, and the captain can operate it through simple training.

Figure 3 Schematic diagram of 100kg industrial robot structure

Figure 4 Schematic diagram of the structure of a seven axis 30kg industrial robot
In the selection of robots, we not only need to "recognize heroes with discerning eyes" and do the most efficient things at the lowest price, but also need to make certain technological improvements to make robots more suitable for the application scenarios of our Xinhua system, truly achieving "cost reduction and efficiency improvement".
03/Significant achievements in cost reduction and efficiency improvement
(1) Energy consumption reduction: Compared with traditional long arm extension robots, the energy consumption of small robots has been reduced by nearly 50%, significantly reducing operating costs.
(2) Space utilization improvement: Small robots have a compact size and reduced footprint, making them particularly suitable for printing workshops with limited space.
(3) Enhanced flexibility and adaptability: Small robots are easy to move and deploy, and can quickly adapt to different production needs, further improving the flexibility of the production line.
The profound significance of innovative printing
This innovative solution not only solves the pain points of traditional robots in practical applications, but also provides a replicable example for cost reduction and efficiency improvement in the printing industry. Its successful practice has brought us the following insights.
(1) Scenario based design thinking: When selecting robots, it is important to closely consider the actual production scenario and avoid blindly pursuing high-performance parameters. By accurately matching requirements, the optimal allocation of resources can be achieved.
(2) Modular and integrated innovation: Through modular design and device integration, we break through the limitations of a single device and fully unleash its potential. The application of lifting mechanisms is a vivid embodiment of this concept.
(3) Green Manufacturing and Sustainable Development: Low energy and high-efficiency robot design not only reduces operating costs for enterprises, but also reduces energy consumption, contributing to green manufacturing and sustainable development.
(4) Collaborative innovation, win-win future: Deep cooperation with suppliers to accelerate the implementation of technological innovation. By sharing resources and technological experience, we can jointly promote technological progress and industrial upgrading in the industry.

The innovative application of rotary book stacking robots is a vivid practice of reducing costs and increasing efficiency in the printing industry. By optimizing design, integrating innovation, and closely collaborating with suppliers, we have not only broken through technological bottlenecks, but also explored a new path for the high-quality development of the industry. In the future, with the iteration of technology and the expansion of application scenarios, the rotary book stacking robot will continue to inject strong impetus into the intelligent transformation of the printing industry with its efficient, flexible, and green characteristics.