Autonomous cleaning robot runs even cleaner with drylin linear bearings

Lubrication-free linear guides, shafts, plain and fixed flange bearings from Igus all play a crucial role in the smooth operation of the mechanics in the K900 cleaning robot from Kemaro.

Three Swiss engineers – Armin Koller, Thomas Oberholzer and Martin Gadient – founded Kemaro in August 2016 to develop autonomous robots. With the K800, the young company from Eschlikon, Thurgau launched the world’s first autonomous dry-cleaning robot for industrial use.

“We wanted to develop a product that the world needed, was technically mature, improved the cleaning process and helped save money and time – thus the idea of an industrial cleaning robot was born,” says Gadient, in charge of the mechanics and production division. The 13-person company followed this up with the successor model K900 in 2020.

Whether it's a warehouse, production facility or industrial plant, the K900 cleans without chemicals or water, leaving the floor clean and – crucially – dry. Due to its low installation height, the robot cleans even in places that are hard to reach or potentially dangerous for people to access. Commissioning is very easy and fast and requires little or no preparation time or programming. The user simply places the K900 in the desired location, plugs it in, charges it and the autonomous cleaning can begin.

“Companies save massive cleaning costs with a K900,” says Gadient. “They also protect the health of employees by reducing fine-dust pollution and dispensing with chemical cleaning agents. Another plus is that a cleaning robot allows the workforce to concentrate fully on their value-adding activities again.”

The sweeping robot is designed for cleaning areas up to 10,000m². It has a battery run time of up to five hours, an integrated dust extraction system, a cleaning width of 90cm and a dirt container with a capacity of 35 litres. “As it travels, our robot creates its own cleaning map, identifies and bypasses fixed and mobile objects, and cleans its environment completely independently,” says Gadient.

“In the case of cleaning robots for industry, we are currently the only company in the global market that can simply place the robot in a room and start it at the push of a button,” he adds. “There is no need for prior space measurement or teach-in.”

To make the robot mobile, it has a trolley handle that is guided cleanly, strongly and safely with a drylin T linear guide from Igus. “From my past work as a development engineer, I already knew the products from Igus, and my experiences with them had always been good,” says Gadient. “For our size and the confined space conditions, we needed a strong and robust linear guide that was made-to-measure. We contacted Igus and a short time later, we ordered a sample of the desired linear guide for testing from their website.”

Axel Ebert, key account manager for bearing technology at Igus Switzerland, adds: “You can easily order a sample guide from us via our website – also made-to-measure from customer drawings. Due to the required strength, we decided on a drylin T linear guide in HD (heavy-duty) version in coordination with Kemaro.”

Profile guides of the drylin T type are dimensionally identical to the usual lubricated ball guides. In contrast, noise is reduced with the drylin T guides, as is the surface pressure due to the larger contact surface between the guide and the profile rail. In the heavy-duty version, the slides have a very firm hold in the carriage body. The drylin T carriage guides can handle loads up to 14,000N, are extremely resistant to dirt and have a very long service life.

“That’s another advantage of Igus products – they’re all lubrication-free and therefore ideal for our application. The customer never has to lubricate, so no dust sticks to the guides and no abrasive paste can form,” says Gadient.

Aluminium is used for the shaft material. “At first we had a chrome steel shaft that we kept having problems with,” says Gadient. “Axel Ebert then suggested an aluminium shaft from the Igus portfolio. Initially I was very sceptical, but after the first test I was completely thrilled. It is both lighter and also easier to assemble and works perfectly.”

In addition to the carriage guidance, the fixed flange bearings, plain bearings and thrust washers from Igus are also used in the robot, providing additional lubricant-free benefits.

“Our igubal spherical bearings, which are used in the roller brush bearing, are maintenance-free, self-aligning bearing elements made entirely of plastic. In addition, the entire igubal joint system is insensitive to dust and dirt, resistant to corrosion, and 80% lighter than metal bearings,” says Daniel Henlin, sales manager at Igus Switzerland, emphasising the advantages of spherical bearings made of high-performance plastics.

By using the igus lubrication-free bearing technology, the directors at Kemaro were able to make their autonomous sweeping robot quieter, more robust, lighter and also more durable. And it also requires less maintenance. “The collaboration with Igus is as we hoped – the advice is top class and the price-performance ratio is right. But above all, the quality of the product is convincing, and this in turn increases the quality of our product,” concludes Gadient.