The Beckhoff XPlanar planar motor system for levitating product transport with up to six degrees of freedom was launched on the market in 2018 and its functionality has been continuously expanded ever since. Products can now be handled with even more flexibility thanks to the new mover identification, movers for bidirectional operation on one tile, rectangular movers, and mover coupling.

The XPlanar bumpers with ID function enable unique identification of the XPlanar movers by reading out the individual serial number of the mover. The ID bumper is easy to mount or retrofit to the mover and requires no additional hardware. This makes it possible to seamlessly track movers and products – even after a power supply failure. In addition, there is no need for homing for the system startup if the application has been programmed appropriately.

The new APM4221 XPlanar mover, the second largest model in the APM4xxx family, is designed for a payload of up to 1 kg and is ideal for handling small products with high packing density. With dimensions of 127 x 127 mm, it can even be used in bidirectional operation on appropriately sized tiles, so that a complete production cycle, including recirculation, can be performed on the width of just one tile with minimal footprint. The same applies to the APM4230 rectangular mover, which is also new and measures 115 x 155 mm, for payloads of up to 0.8 kg. If a second track is added to the tile surface area, the APM4350 rectangular mover (155 x 235 mm), which is new as well, enables tridirectional transport of longer products weighing up to 3.0 kg.

The APM4550 XPlanar mover is the largest version (235 x 235 mm) and can transport a payload of up to 4.2 kg, making it the perfect device for handling larger, heavier products. More elaborate workpiece carriers and attached parts can also be used to meet individual requirements. Even payloads weighing far more than 4.2 kg can be transported and positioned with XPlanar: using an adapter, several movers can be fixed together mechanically; the payload increases linearly. If, for example, four of these movers are coupled, this results in a maximum payload of 14.8 kg when the adapter weight is deducted.