COVER STORY
Why collaborative robots hold the key to automating the UK manufacturing sector
C
ollaborative robots are fast becoming the benchmark in industrial automation for their ability to off er higher productivity while working safely alongside human workers. Collaborative robots, or cobots as they are also known, are compact and lightweight, making them the ideal fi t for the evolving needs of the factory of the future. For today’s manufacturing companies, cobots off er many benefi ts that add value at every step of the production process. One example is their ability to work safely alongside humans without the need for guarding, greatly reducing their overall footprint. This makes them ideal for applications where the robot can maximise productivity without compromising on safety. Applications can include both continuous and intermittent collaboration, such as fi nal trim and assembly in automotive manufacturing where some human interaction is needed. Collaborative robots also provide manufacturers with the fl exibility to manage the shift to low-volume/high-mix production. Collaborative robots add agility to change between products and introduce new products faster. The people on the production line contribute their problem- solving capabilities, insights and adaptability to change, while robots bring tireless precision and endurance for repetitive tasks.
Big potential in a small size The global market for collaborative robots is estimated to be worth $12.30 billion by 2025, with a compound annual growth rate of more than 50 percent, according to research fi rm Markets and Markets. One key driver for growth is the development of collaborative robots for workplaces outside large manufacturing environments. While robotic automation technology has evolved to meet the growing demands for high volume industrial production, it has also led to the creation of smaller collaborative robots such as ABB’s YuMi, which are designed to fi t easily into existing production lines to increase productivity while working safely alongside people.
The inherent qualities of collaborative robots such as the ability to mount them on
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tables, walls and roofs, and their easy-to- install and program features make them ideal automation solutions for smaller manufacturers. With their smaller size and reduced need for peripheral equipment, collaborative robots are also much less costly to install, typically reducing the investment needed for a robotic work cell to under $50,000.
Filling the talent gap Many manufacturers are experiencing diffi culties in fi nding experienced workers. Many young people who have grown up in the digital world see manufacturing as involving dirty, dull, dangerous and repetitive tasks such as assembling parts, tending to machines or packaging fi nished goods. Also, with shorter product life-cycles, small manufacturers which operate in high labour cost countries and are closer to their end customers cannot simply outsource to low-cost countries like large corporations do. In these conditions, collaborative robots not only reduce the need for manual labour, but can work tirelessly and with higher quality, allowing their human co-workers to perform more stimulating work that can lead to higher job satisfaction.
Hit the ground running
The plug-and-play qualities of modern cobots mean they can be installed much more quickly, minimising interference with production processes. Their small footprint and portability make cobots suitable not only for automating existing production lines, but also more diverse applications. Technological advances have made collaborative robots far more intuitive than
their conventional counterparts. Features such as lead-through programming and user-friendly touch screen interface allow operators with no programming experience to quickly program the robot. Offl ine simulation tools such as ABB’s RobotStudio allow operators to program the robot and simulate an application on a PC without shutting down production. This helps reduce the time taken to get the robot running, ideal for organisations that have short product cycles. Moreover, digital twin technology can be used to develop a complete and operational virtual representation of a robot on which diagnostics, prediction and simulation can be run to optimise the machine even before it is set up.
Innovating for the future, today With the restrictions on worker mobility and availability caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, it is likely that more companies will start to look towards the possibilities off ered by robotic automation in general, and collaborative robots in particular, as a way of shoring up their workforces. These possibilities are likely to expand as robot manufacturers and their partners work to develop enhanced software features such as cloud connectivity, artifi cial intelligence and machine learning that increase their functionalities and make them safer, more adaptable and fl exible and easier to use. For more information, visit
https://cobots.robotics.abb.com
CONTACT:
ABB
www.abb.com
Automation | March 2021
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