Robotics Unit - Sun Microsystems StorageTek SL500 User Manual

Robotics Unit

The robotics unit provides movement of cartridges among the storage cells, tape drives,
and cartridge access ports (CAPs). The three main robotic components are, as shown in
FIGURE
Z drive assembly
■
X table assembly
■
Hand assembly
■
The Z drive assembly uses the Z drive pulley to move the X table up and down to the
desired storage cell or tape drive. At the same time, the X carriage assembly (containing
the hand) moves the hand forward and backward; the wrist motor rotates the hand
right and left.
The hand assembly contains the wrist hub assembly, gripper assembly, and bar-code
scanner. The gripper assembly has fingers that grasp the sides of the cartridge. If the
library loses power while a cartridge is between the fingers, the manual release screw is
used to remove the cartridge. A worm gear can be used to rotate the hand to the correct
position to access the manual release screw.
For safety purposes, the robotics will be "parked" in the robotics unit when the front
door is opened or when the Open Door button is pressed on the keypad. Parked means
that the robotics components are fully retracted into the robotics unit at the top of the
library. To verify the robot is parked, look at the lever in the cutout beneath the facade
and to the bottom left of the keypad, the lever should be to the left.
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Robotics Unit
Chapter 1 SL500 Introduction 19