Robots: Doing More With Less Floorspace

The automation market is growing rapidly, with affordable, space-saving robots and pre-engineered robotic work cells available for shops with tighter floor space limits and broader needs. From robot frames to racking systems, grippers, software and more, new automation technologies optimize workflow and deliver high consistency, efficiency and quality.

Today’s highly repeatable and flexible robots help to orient, produce and transport parts for both low-volume, high-mix and low-mix, high-volume shops. Tending, warehouse and secondary operations all see improvement from implementation of these robots, reducing costs and improving profits per square foot.

Tending Operations

Deploying robots for machine tending often improves throughput and operational safety while maximizing overall equipment effectiveness. Today’s robots also boast smaller space requirements, with compact and lightweight six-axis robots that can be mounted close to workpieces and machines in existing lines and cells. These types of robots are well-suited for extracting machined parts out of chucks and for loading mills. Robots with heavy-duty drive systems and higher vibration ratings extend this functionality to large parts.

Most modern machine tending robots boast repeatability under 0.1 mm, enabling them to outperform humans at highly mundane, repetitive tasks. These benefits extend beyond machining departments, too, with press brakes and horizontal injection molding machines (IMMs) also seeing performance gains.

Secondary Operations

The current wave of affordable, versatile robots has also affected secondary operations such as trimming, laser cutting, laser marking and deburring. Regarding the latter — whether a straight deburring or a hybrid deburring/polishing process is needed — both small and large parts with a variety of workpiece characteristics can be made assembly ready. Performing secondary tasks in the same footprint as primary operations further saves time and money.

Putting Peripherals Front and Center

Peripherals and other kinds of automated technology can improve the versatility and usability of robots. These can be included with the purchase of a robot, but in most cases, manufacturers should be able to retrofit peripherals into existing work cells.

Vision-guidance systems (VGR) simplify robotic programming, configuration and integration. The intelligent vision technology instructs the robot how to move and manipulate incoming workpieces, including those in different positions.

Applications that demand a mobile robotic solution can turn to several options. A single robot on a traditional servo-track can still tackle large parts or applications where multiple machines need tending in succession, while autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) equipped with LiDAR sensors and other vision technology can meet a variety of other challenges. Capable of moving independently across the shop floor to their assigned tasks, AMRs simplify redeployments of industrial and collaborative robots to help with machine-tending tasks when having a dedicated robot is not practical. In certain applications, stationary robots designed to work collaboratively can load and unload items from AMRs.

Robotic integration can be easily managed via standard programming environments that eliminate the need for proprietary programming languages. Operators can simplify robot setup through motion control platforms or programmable logic controllers (PLCs), using these devices for wide variety of applications. For example, software interfaces can give a robot the ability to “know” the location of a specific product and act on that product as needed. Widely accepted Rockwell drives can be wired back to the PLC for position, speed and feedback information, giving the robot program the information required to track products along a conveyor and keep robots operating within their safe zones.

EuroMap 67-compliant electrical interfaces are hardware/software systems that streamline these tracking processes further. The best interfaces adhere to the Plastics Industry Association (PLASTICS)’s standards to transmit valuable information such as door status and robot operating and ejector position.

Factors to Consider

With a wealth of choices for robots comes a need to understand some of their ongoing developments. Weighing the features and needs of a particular robot will be valuable when considering what model of robot to purchase. Safety fencing requirements and the potential to leverage artificial intelligence are both important aspects of robots and robotic operations for consideration.

Depending on the application, safety fencing is not always required — collaborative robots often do not require fencing, and even some traditional industrial robots can operate without barriers. Some cases only require a safety device such as an area scanner or light curtain barrier. That said, for manufacturers mindful of their work cells’ total footprints, the use of safety fencing may actually be ideal even for collaborative applications. Depending on the option chosen, cycle time requirements should be considered, as robot speed is a factor for operator safety.

As for artificial intelligence (AI), strides in this field are facilitating safe, collaborative robot movement in three-dimensional environments, even when working with complex part varieties and shapes. AI also comes into play with AMRs, as these vehicles maneuver autonomously through facilities to perform specific tasks in a timely and safe manner, using mounted robots, vision systems, custom end-of-arm tooling and more to complete jobs.

Straightforward Robot Integration

When implemented in a smart, efficient way, robotic systems offer the potential for future success. While evolving customer requirements, supply chain challenges and skilled labor shortages will continue to reshape the industrial landscape, robots can alleviate many issues, elevating workforce productivity and maintaining fluid operations.