ROBOT APPLICATIONS

Need to replace human labor by robots:
– Work environment hazardous for human beings
– Repetitive tasks
– Boring and unpleasant tasks
– Multishift operations
– Infrequent changeovers
– Performing at a steady pace
– Operating for long hours without rest
– Responding in automated operations
– Minimizing variationIndustrial Robot Applications can be divided into:
– Material-handling applications:
• Involve the movement of material or parts from one location to another.
• It include part placement, palletizing and/or depalletizing, machine loading
and unloading.
– Processing Operations:
• Requires the robot to manipulate a special process tool as the end effector.
• The application include spot welding, arc welding, riveting, spray painting,
machining, metal cutting, deburring, polishing.
– Assembly Applications:
• Involve part-handling manipulations of a special tools and other automatic
tasks and operations.
– Inspection Operations:
• Require the robot to position a workpart to an inspection device.
• Involve the robot to manipulate a device or sensor to perform the inspection• Part Placement:
– The basic operation in this category is the relatively simple pick-and-place
operation.
– This application needs a low-technology robot of the cylindrical
coordinate type.
– Only two, three, or four joints are required for most of the applications.
– Pneumatically powered robots are often utilized.
• Palletizing and/or Depalletizing
– The applications require robot to stack parts one on top of the other, that
is to palletize them, or to unstack parts by removing from the top one by
one, that is depalletize them.
– Example: process of taking parts from the assembly line and stacking
them on a pallet or vice versa.Machine loading and/or unloading:
– Robot transfers parts into and/or from a production machine.
– There are three possible cases:
• Machine loading in which the robot loads parts into a production machine,
but the parts are unloaded by some other means.
– Example: a pressworking operation, where the robot feeds sheet blanks into the
press, but the finished parts drop out of the press by gravity.
• Machine loading in which the raw materials are fed into the machine without
robot assistance. The robot unloads the part from the machine assisted by
vision or no vision.
– Example: bin picking, die casting, and plastic moulding.
• Machine loading and unloading that involves both loading and unloading of
the workparts by the robot. The robot loads a raw work part into the process
ad unloads a finished part.
– Example: Machine operation
• Difficulties
– Difference in cycle time between the robot and the production machine.
The cycle time of the machine may be relatively long compared to the
robot’s cycle time.