Automation
Choosing the right cobot for your process:
Paul Richards, global customer coordinator europe, cobot market, FANUC Europe, says when the International Federation of Robots (IFR) first started collating collaborative robot data in 2017, this new breed of robot had a market share of just 2.8%
he IFR’s latest report showed that by 2021, that figure had leapt to 7.5%, with the number of newly deployed collaborative robots growing by 50% year-on-year to 38,966 units globally. There are several reasons why cobots are gaining popularity. Firstly, they provide a solution to many of the challenges that manufacturers are facing in this ‘new normal’ era. In terms of flexibility, the cobot sits midway between an industrial robot and a human. This level of agility is valuable for accommodating the shorter product lifecycles and vast numbers of SKUs that are typical of the increasingly common HMLV (high-mix-low- volume) approach to manufacturing. Cobots can also help manufacturers counteract the ongoing issue of unskilled labour shortages by freeing up human workers to carry out more valuable tasks. As demand for cobots has soared, the number of players in the market has proliferated and there are now over 60 cobot manufacturers worldwide. Whilst more competition can mean greater choice and better value for customers, it can also mean more confusion.
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This is particularly salient when you consider that cobot sales in the UK and Ireland are being driven by SMEs, who seldom have the in-house resources and expertise to thoroughly assess numerous different makes and models. To aid the decision-making process, FANUC has compiled a checklist for companies to work through when purchasing a cobot, helping first- time buyers to navigate the complexities and avoid costly pitfalls…
ESTABLISH THE BUSINESS CASE To determine whether your operation would benefit from a cobot, start by identifying the pain points that are hindering growth or performance. If staff reliability, RSI, health & safety concerns, a lack of labour, or the limitations of hard automation feature on your list, then cobots are a route worth exploring.
IDENTIFY POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS The next step is to identify the applications associated with these pain points. What are the tasks that are causing RSI? Which health & safety hazards could be removed such as lifting/moving heavy loads? Which are the tasks humans don’t want to do?
EVALUATE THE APPLICATIONS Score each application based on the following considerations: Is it a precision task? Are there uncomfortable motions involved? Does it result in high rejection rates? Does it involve heavy loads? Is a constant human presence needed? Does the human operator add any value? What speed does the task need to be performed at? From
experience we know that welding, pick & place and machine loading are often ideal candidates for cobot applications.
COVER OFF SAFETY CONCERNS Assess the safety of your chosen application: does the cobot need to be guarded, unguarded or part guarded? FANUC cobots, depending on the application and risk assessment, can work safely alongside humans unguarded at speeds of up to 250mm per second, so speed is a good indicator as to whether a cobot is the right automation solution for the task.
That said, it is not always clear cut. Part guarding or other safety devices can be employed to enable
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September 2023
www.convertermag.com
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