ROBOTICS ROBOTICS COME TO THE RESCUE
Steve Sands, head of product management at Festo GB, shares his view of how the pandemic has both influenced our attitudes to robotics and accelerated the adoption of the technology...
A
s the COVID pandemic enters a second year, it is easy to see the impacts that lockdowns and travel restrictions are having on our work and personal lives – but not all of these are negative. In the field of automation, for instance, there has been a substantial rise in interest and opportunities for automation and robotics.
In part, this is because COVID has accelerated many emerging trends, which have carried over into processing and control within the manufacturing supply chain. A prime example is logistics. More and more of us have embraced online shopping, ordering customised goods that are delivered within days to our doorstep. This can only be achieved cost-effectively through highly automated and flexible production processes, coupled with equally highly automated intralogistics fulfilment centres deploying hundreds, if not thousands, of automated pick and place devices. This level of automation is already achieving record levels of despatches: Amazon reported delivering more than 1.5 billion packages over the holiday period in December 20201
. Rapid robot response
New applications for robotics have also emerged as a result of our attempts to control the virus. For example, finding a long- term cure requires massive quantities of rapid and reliable laboratory tests, but preparing laboratory samples is a repetitive task that requires high precision. Initially, laboratory testing was undertaken manually and involved the deployment of large numbers of people working under hazardous and PPE-restricted conditions. It became clear, as the global situation worsened, that manual testing was simply not sustainable. Automation provided the answer to meet the
scale of the medical crisis we faced. Indeed, demand for rapid delivery of handling systems reached levels that I have never experienced in over thirty years in automation. Delivering such solutions successfully and rapidly is reliant on the ability to combine axes easily and select the appropriate motors and motion controllers to provide the required speed, force and precision for the task.
Meeting urgent requests When demand for automated robot solutions soared, Festo was in the fortunate position of having the right experience within its Core Engineering team and a modular design platform and standardised mounting interfaces. This combination has enabled us to produce urgent design concepts for customised multi-axis handling solutions in a matter of hours. Consequently, we have supplied cartesian-based robot solutions for many COVID-related applications. The scale can vary from a complete system no larger than a sheet of A4 size paper to other industry applications with gantries spanning more than 30m2
. One urgent request for a
health-related application hit our desks at 4.30 in the afternoon and was available as a 3D drawing for the customer’s design review first thing the next morning.
Access to dedicated software that makes cartesian and gantry system design fast and error-free has further enabled swift turnaround times. A design and selection package called Handling Guide Online [HGO] allows us to input the application requirements in the customers’ language, such as the stroke lengths, mass to be moved etc. The HGO then looks for all possible solutions based upon feed forces, inertia and the mechanical bearing specifications and then prioritises them. Price may be a critical factor for some
Steve Sands, head of product management at Festo GB (above) Handling Guide Online [HGO] design and documentation package (left)
customers – but power requirements or safety factors for bearing overload can also be used to find the perfect match. The models created within the HGO
contain not only the simulations but also the mechanical design and bill of materials. The 3D CAD drawing is created in numerous formats simultaneously and even includes documentation for electrical wiring and programming I/O allocations. And in the true spirit of Industry 4.0 working, all of this data seamlessly transfers into the preferred documentation software such as EPLAN. Kinematic models can be picked up within higher-level simulation packages, enabling the simulation of complete stations. The operating (PLC) program can be pre-written and virtually commissioned: all before any metal is cut or assembled.
Solutions to problems Industrial Automation has adapted rapidly in a short space of time to provide positive solutions to pandemic problems. In the past, application support consultations between designers and suppliers were conducted face to face. Thanks to COVID constraints, many customers have found that increased access to easy to use, free of charge software means that they can specify many handling and automation systems on their own. Where additional support is required, remote consultation has become the norm and is frequently more efficient than a site visit. These faster, online ways of working are setting the trend for accelerated robot design and delivery in the future.
1
https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/reta
il/thank-you-to-amazon-customers- employees-and-selling-partners
Festo
www.festo.com
JUNE 2021 | PROCESS & CONTROL 17
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66
