SUPPLEMENT Robotics & Motion Controly


The dawn of fl exible automation


Flexible automation is the ultimate expression of motion control and robotics, says Greg Downey, Robotics Specialist at OW Robotics (OWR)


T


echnological progress is how we minimise manual eff ort to maximise material outcomes. Do less, make more. This is how we


move from motion control to robotics, to fl exible automation.


Motion control Motion control is the process of taking instruction and turning it into action. Robotics is where that instruction no longer needs to be given by a person, and is entirely automatic. But, even robotics as we so often understand it now requires exceptional eff ort to get it working. The models of industrial robotics, and the most widely prevalent form of warehouse robotics, the ASRS – Automated Storage and Retrieval System, remain backward-looking. Robotics in the model of the previous industrial revolution, aka Industry 3.0, still need extreme eff ort to set up, secure and set to work. There is a mode of automation above and beyond this. A pre-made, pre-readied, adaptable and precise solution that can work for businesses; one that off ers all the power of robotics but without the downsides of an infrastructure necessary in fi xed automation. This next step is “fl exible automation”e.


To fully understand it we fi rst must examine what motion control means and how robotics takes it that step further. As the name suggests, motion control is a system engineered to control motion – specifi cally a system that can initiate and control the movement of a load in order to perform work.


This consists of three elements. The


controller, the drive (sometimes termed the amplifi er) and, fi nally, the motor. There are many diff erent technical variations of controllers available, but the key essential diff erence is whether the controller is directed manually or automatically. This is where we start to see the diff erence between robotics and motion control.


Precision required Motion control is a subset of robotics, one of the many technologies that make robotics possible.


32 October 2020 | Automation


Flexible automation from OW Robotics


Greg Downey, OW Robotics


Precision would seem more possible with a motion-control system. With all the parts and pieces separated, you can confi gure the drive and motor yourself, adjusting the solution to your exact specifi cations. By contrast, robotics solutions are usually pre-built, pre- prepared and pre-confi gured turnkey solutions. To make robotics solutions more precise, the current fi xed automaton models use fi xed infrastructure. Robots are precise in their actions because the infrastructure conditions them to be so, forced down into rails and gantries and particular positions. This creates a huge eff ort and expense and is far from the only way.


A flexible alternative Industry 4.0 off ers a new range of automation that is not only precise but does so without the elaborate and costly infrastructure that old-school robotics needs. Welcome to the revolution that is fl exible robotics. Flexible robotics off ers the same level


of precision as a singular motion control system, combined with the eff ortlessness of robotics control – and all without the eff ort and expense of installing elaborate infrastructure around the robots. The robots of Industry 4.0 understand their surroundings through advanced sensor suites and intelligent Simultaneous Localisation And Mapping (SLAM) navigation. This means their only orientation requirements are carefully- placed DM panels in the fl oor, i.e. Data Matrix akin to QR codes. This allows highly precise and accurate instructions to be sent from the automated controller to the drive, down to each millimeter of movement.


The ultimate expression Flexible automation is the ultimate expression of minimising eff ort for maximum gain. It takes almost no eff ort to set up; there’s no need for direct human control, yet the output is highly accurate and high quality. Freed from infrastructure, businesses using this system can grow and adapt in ways not possible before, with either motion-control systems or older fi xed models of robotics.


CONTACT:


OW Robotics www.owrobotics.co.uk


automationmagazine.co.uk


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