Manufacturing technology Manufacturing technology
cobots The
coming are
cobot implementations in manufacturing settings, he identified a curious factor that indicated a project’s likely success. Neues, an industry sales manager for medical at cobot and medical device manufacturer OMRON, realised that if flesh and blood colleagues bestowed a human name upon their electronic companion,
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chances were that the project was going to be a successful one. It is a tale that speaks to the unique characteristics of cobots. Where robots have traditionally sought to be a direct replacement for humans in manufacturing processes, collaborative robots are something else: devices that work alongside humans rather than replacing them. “These are robots that have been designed to work together with humans,” stresses Dominic Price, research fellow at the University of Nottingham’s Cobot Maker Space – a lab, workshop
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hen Arndt Neues first began working on
Collaborative robots – or ‘cobots’ – have been billed as a game-changer in medical device manufacturing. Working alongside human staff to tackle repetitive and physically demanding tasks, cobots can handle materials, complete quality control and even automatically move around their human colleagues. With the use of cobots projected to grow further, Claire Read speaks to sector experts to explore their use in medical device manufacture and consider factors in their successful application.
and space in which academic and other partners are exploring the future of collaborative robots. “Compared to traditional manufacturing robots, which for safety reasons typically have to be situated away from humans behind protective screens, cobots have safety features that allow them to work in close proximity to humans,” he adds. There is little doubt that such machines are on the march, particularly in manufacturing settings. According to December 2024 data from the International Federation of Robotics, there were 57,040 new cobots installed worldwide in 2023 alone. That is five times the figure in 2017. It means that collaborative robots constituted 10.5% of all manufacturing robot installations in 2023. Behind each of those installations lies a belief that the cobot will improve the manufacturing process in question.
Safer, more productive manufacturing For Daniela Sawyer, senior theme lead for automation at the University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC), it is a legitimate expectation. “When implemented and integrated correctly, cobots can significantly enhance manufacturing processes
Medical Device Developments /
www.medicaldevice-developments.com
Tatiana Shepeleva/
Shutterstock.com
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