Think You Can’t Use Robots? – Think Again

The events of recent months 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.

Answers to common excuses for not using Industrial Robotics

‘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 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.  Developments in Simplified Robot Programming, or SRP allow the robot user to ‘paint’ an object by tracing it with an SRP-enabled Teach Handle. 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.

Simulation and offline programming software such as our own RobotStudio™ package also allows robot installations to be programmed and tested 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 specialised 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 company 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 by ABB, 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 place an accurate image of the robot cell into the customer’s existing, real-life production areas. The robot solution can be scaled to full size and be rotated to achieve the best result.

As well as seeing how the robot will fit around existing equipment, you can also watch the robot in action, as if you were standing right next to it. A timeline feature allows you to check the cycle time of the process, find ways to improve performance and flag up any problems.

The app is used on a smart device such as a tablet, making it very easy to use. This makes it particularly appealing to SMEs, many of whom are keen to use robots but are unsure of where to start.

Get the app

Some tasks do demand a very high degree of accuracy in assembly, such as fitting trim and components inside the cabins of vehicles. Yet with the latest advanced software, this is not impossible for robots. The high accuracy demanded is achieved using the force control concept, which effectively emulates the human sense of touch.

The robot’s movements are governed by feedback from a force sensor. This means that the robot can search for the correct location, and assemble parts using intelligent Force/Torque motion, without the risk of jamming or damaging the components.

Using force control the robot can handle parts in a way similar to a human – it can search along a defined path and attempt to push parts together, using only the right amount of force to bring them into the correct position.

This has the potential to save installation and programming costs, as programming is much easier, while also cutting average cycle times due to the lower number of assembly problems experienced.

‘We have frequent changes of product.’

Far from being a problem, this is one of the areas that robots excel at. With the ability to automatically change tooling, materials, and programming, they eliminate much of the work involved in swapping from one product to the next. As customers demand more and more customisation, this allows companies to swap easily between products, getting closer to the ideal of a batch sise of one.

Collaborative robots or ‘cobots’ help manufacturers meet this demand by giving them the flexibility to manage the shift to low-volume/high-mix production. Cobots add the agility needed to change rapidly between products and introduce new products faster.

People working with cobots on the production line contribute their unique problem-solving capabilities, insights, and adaptability, while robots bring their strengths of tireless precision and endurance for repetitive tasks.

An example here is Panda Confectionery, which chose cobots to maximize its productivity, helping it stay competitive in the rapidly changing and high growth pick and mix candy market.

The company’s cobots help it respond quickly to changing customer demand by allowing it to change box sizes rapidly with minimum programming.  With no need for safety barriers, the lines are also easier to clean and maintain.

‘We have special processes that can only be done by people’

Because they move quickly and can exert large forces, robots are usually separated from humans by substantial safety barriers. However, not all companies need equipment that can carry heavy masses – many manufacturers’ production involves intricate assembly of small components, with a lot of delicate hand work and selection of parts, things that only humans can do.

Or can they? Again, cobots can fit the bill here. The latest generation of collaborative robots offer companies the best of both worlds by combining the adaptability and intelligence of people with the tireless precision, dexterity and performance of robots.

Collaborative robots or ‘cobots’ can work alongside people in a shared space, allowing companies to automate the assembly of many types of products on the same line.

These types of robots have a range of hardware and software features that ensure they cannot injure people, including SafeMove2 enabling robots and operators to work closer together by restricting robot motion to exactly what is needed for a specific application.

Cobots are also easy to program – tasks can be taught to them by simply leading their arms through the actions needed. There is also a HR and training dimension – working alongside robots gives people a chance to improve their skills by learning how to program and operate them. Cobots are also easier to deploy and give quicker returns on investment.

It's time to make the switch to robots

Although many companies, particularly SMEs, may think that their production presents insurmountable barriers to using automation, modern robots and software are showing that there are no real obstacles and that increasingly, robotic production is for everyone.

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