The role of Robotics in Factory Automation

Empowering workers with more intricate tasks

Robots implemented in the manufacturing sector fill up numerous roles and increase workplace safety. Fully autonomous robots in manufacturing are required for high-volume, repetitive processes commonly, as the speed, accuracy, and durability of a robot offers exceptional merits. The other manufacturing automation solutions comprise robots, which are implemented to empower workers with more intricate tasks.

Disadvantages of using robots in industries

Although Productivity has increased, errors are reduced and quality is improved automation still has some negative impact. These comprise high initial costs, decreased worker employment, and the removal of a few ethical human oversights. With continuing advancements in automation and its increasing popularity in new industries, it is possible to observe a rise in these events.

Robots in Manufacturing applications

One of the most prevalent applications where thirty-eight percent of industrial robots are used is material handling landscape. Material handling robots have the capability to automate some of the most daunting and unsafe tasks in the production line.

With the introduction of collaborative robots/cobots, into the manufacturing sector at a low price, the capacity to revolutionize manufacturing/production lines is proliferating. A lighter, mobile plug & play generation of collaborative robots is coming to the production floor intending to work safely along with human workers.

While twenty-nine percent of the robots implemented in the manufacturing sector are welders, the welding segment mainly consists of spot welding and arc welding and more and more welding robots are being introduced by small manufacturers into the fabrication line. The cost of welding robots is decreasing which has made it easier to automate a welding process. Also, these robots not only provide better efficiency, reach, speed, but also offers enhanced performance for welding parts of various shapes & sizes. It supports a large variety of intelligent functions that include ready-to-use robotic vision, as well as collision avoidance.

Assembly operations encompass ten percent of the robots that are implemented in manufacturing and consist of fixing, press-fitting, inserting, and disassembling. However, this type of robotic application has been reduced due to the introduction of various technologies that include force-torque sensors & tactile sensors which provide more sensations to the robot.

When it comes to fixing parts together, assembly robots move at greater speed and precision when compared to human beings and an off-the-shelf tool can be installed quicker when compared to special-purpose equipment. An assembly robot is not only easily reconfigured but is also a low-risk investment, which meets the demands of manufacturing, quality, and finance - all at the same time.

Conclusion

Today, manufacturing robots are available at cost-effective rates than ever before. Furthermore, standard robot models are now mass-manufactured and which makes them more available to meet the surging demands of industries. While these robots are more simple/straightforward and more favorable for plug and play installation, they are designed to communicate easily with each other, which makes it easier production assembly as the resulting systems become more reliable & flexible. Manufacturing robots have the ability to control and handle more, as they are built to provide complexity & toughness in diverse manufacturing settings. Therefore, it is clear that Robots are the future of manufacturing.