AUTOMATION & ROBOTICS R
ecent events including Brexit, COVID and the growing impact of supply chain shortages are
prompting many UK manufacturers to re-examine their attitudes to automation, with many now looking at ways to add automated technologies to their factory floors. In this article, Nigel Platt, Lead Business Manager, UK and Ireland – Robotics And Discrete Automation, looks at how developments in robotic automation are helping to tackle the common concerns that have held back the adoption of robots in UK manufacturing. Robots are well known for the great benefits
they can bring to industry – tireless, accurate and fast, they can make manufacturing much more efficient and productive. Yet, some manufacturers and other potential
industrial users continue to believe that robots are not for them – too big, too costly, not suited for their type of production or handling tasks or just too complex to program or set up. While that may have been the case for many
companies in the past, the latest developments in control software, architecture, safety, programming and handling capabilities make robots suitable for many more tasks and environments than ever before.
And with costs continuing to fall, they are now
being employed by SMEs, who are using robotic automation to benefit their own, often very niche, production methods.
’WE CAN’T AFFORD A ROBOT’ There is clearly a perception that robots are expensive. Yet, a report by McKinsey and Company [1], shows that robot costs have fallen by half over the last 30 years. During the same period, labour costs have risen at a similar rate. At a time when the effects of the global pandemic are making labour availability particularly difficult to predict and manage, robots can help fill this resource gap. When you factor in the accuracy and
repeatability that a robot can achieve, the reduction in waste and what this can mean for the production of high-quality, saleable products, robots begin to look like an increasingly sound investment. An example is a ceramics company using robotic automation in one of its critical processes. It has cut the reject rate for its products to just 1.5 percent. It has also boosted its production considerably, beating its major rivals. Added to this is the potential for cutting direct
and overhead costs. With no requirement for minimum lighting or heating levels, making use of robots is a great way to cut energy bills.
’THEY ARE TOO COMPLEX TO PROGRAM’ Programming complexity may have been a challenge in the past, but the latest robot
THINK YOU CAN’T USE ROBOTS? THINK AGAIN
software makes it far easier to get the result you want without the need to be a coding guru. For example, your production might involve painting cabinets or components with complex shapes. ABB has solved this challenge with its Simplified Robot Programming, or SRP. The robot user ‘paints’ an object by tracing it with teach software. Motion tracking technology and software create the robot program, cutting paint programming times from hours to minutes. A shoe company in Northamptonshire is using
a robot to help it quickly and easily switch from one product to another. DB Shoes offers over 200 different options in its range, each of which needs to be turned into a distinct program for the robots - to change a template or set one up for a new type of shoe, the company’s staff can simply copy one of the existing templates and edit it to create a brand-new template.
Another option is ABB’s simulation and offline
programming software, RobotStudio™, which allows robots to be programmed on a PC. Users can perform tasks such as training, programming, and optimisation without disturbing production.
’WE DON’T NEED LARGE INDUSTRIAL ROBOTS’ Many people have an image of large robots in car plants lifting vehicle bodies and engine blocks, but today’s robots come in all shapes and sizes. Some can lift 800kg loads but others are designed for small loads as low as half a kilogram. Others have been specifically designed to take up less space, while having the payload and reach to match the needs of many different applications.
’WE NEED SPECIAL TOOLING’ Although robots can be very versatile and easily reprogrammed for other tasks, they can still be dedicated to one specialized role if they have the right tooling. An example of this includes a large UK bakery
firm, which wanted to automate the palletising process at its factory to improve its speed and efficiency, while ensuring staff remained safe. The process involves handling stacks of trays containing baked goods and placing them onto the palletising station. Together, the stacks of 20 trays can weigh a total of 200kg. The solution was a robotic palletising cell,
using a robot with a maximum lifting capacity of 630kg. The systems integrator involved in the project also produced a unique stainless- steel gripper that conforms to the shape of the trays, designed to allow the robot to safely and precisely grip the stack. A laser profile scanner checks for stack displacement and relays positional data to the robot, allowing the robot to pick up the stack precisely.
’WE DON’T THINK A ROBOT COULD FIT INTO OUR EXISTING PRODUCTION SYSTEM’ It can sometimes be hard to visualise how a robot could fit into a production line, so seeing an animated installation is a good way of getting a clear idea of how it will all fit together. This is made possible with a new app, which allows production engineers to see exactly how a robot or robot cell will fit into the existing factory. The app uses Augmented Reality (AR), to
18 JULY/AUGUST 2022 | FACTORY&HANDLINGSOLUTIONS
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