Industrial robots are programmable machines that are used to handle, assemble or process workpieces in an industrial environment. These robots essentially consist of the arm, the manipulator, a tool such as a gripper, and a control unit that controls and interpolates the individual axes. According to the German VDI 2860 standard, industrial robots are universally applicable automatic motion machines whose movements are freely programmable (i.e. without mechanical intervention) with regard to movement sequence and paths or angles and, if necessary, sensor-guided.

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Industrial robots Good 2 Know (PDF)

Industrial robots are most commonly used in applications such as welding, painting, palletising, handling tasks, assembly and packaging. However, their flexibility makes them suitable for a wide variety of repetitive tasks. In most cases, several applications are combined.

A cobot is a neologism made up of “collaborative” and “robot” and actually means a robot that can work collaboratively with a human. The term is used in contrast to industrial robots, which are safely separated from humans in production by appropriate protective equipment. A cobot must have appropriate force/torque sensors on the individual axes. A cobot alone is not enough for a collaborative application; the tool, component(s) and all other movements must also be evaluated and considered against this background. The integrator or system manufacturer – and later the system operator – is responsible if a change is made (e.g. different part).

With “Bin Picking”, a robot picks parts from a randomly arranged parts supply with the help of a 3D camera or 3D image processing. No additional separation system, such as a feeder, is used. In addition to the camera system finding and detecting parts in the preferred position, the robot’s gripping tool, the robot arm and container walls must also be taken into consideration.

The safety controller has different product names, depending on the robot manufacturer. It boils down to a second redundant controller that monitors the actual control system. This achieves the Performance Level (PL) d defined in the relevant standards. It means that movements, paths, spaces and even tools and tool angles can be monitored safely for the employees.

As an alternative to safety fences, safe sensor technology can also be used to safeguard industrial robots, e.g. floor scanners, light curtains and light barriers. This is usually done in conjunction with a robot safety controller. The robot may then be operated at maximum speed and without restrictions with regard to the tool or workpiece. Collaborative robots (cobots) can be operated without a separating protective device; collaborative operation even allows for robots and humans to work together in one room. However, the cobots may then only move very slowly and the mould, peripherals and workpieces must not pose any hazards.

HRC is the abbreviation for human-robot collaboration, i.e. collaboration between humans and robots in a shared workspace. In contrast to collaboration, a distinction is made between the operating modes of cooperation and coexistence.

In cooperation, the work areas of humans and robots overlap, but they are active in these areas at different times during the process. In the case of coexistence, humans and robots work in neighbouring areas, but there is no overlap.

Upright assembly is the simplest type of assembly there is. It entails only a few additional costs and expenses. An industrial robot’s optimum working area is at the height of the second axis. Even with overhead mounting, there are no significant accessibility advantages. If the robot is mounted on the wall (90°), the working range of the first axis is usually severely restricted.

By all means. Robots are flexible and universally applicable kinematics of motion. They are freely programmable and have universal interfaces. If designed correctly, robots have a very long service life and are therefore an investment that can continue to provide excellent service in another function even after several years.

Automation is usually carried out for one or more of the following reasons:

1. A shortage of (skilled) labour > We are going through a period where there is a shortage of skilled workers and it is becoming increasingly difficult to find staff for shift or even night shift operations. Without automation, the work will not be done.
2. Humanisation/relief > Monotonous or non-ergonomic activities are taken over by robots
3. Increased productivity and reduced costs, reshoring > By automating processes, sales volumes can be increased and/or costs reduced. As a result, companies remain competitive and can keep production processes on site.
4. Quality assurance and quality improvement > Automation enables consistently high product quality. Automated control and monitoring of processes ensures that quality is maintained and  appropriately documented.
5. Additional production, better utilisation of existing machines > Automation makes it possible to add an additional shift without the need for additional personnel.

There are various basic concepts for workpiece magazines.

• Drawer systems
• Paternoster or lift systems
• Tray stackers or palletising systems
• Robot palletising systems

A robot gripper, also known as a robot gripping tool, robot hand, end effector or EOAT (end-of-arm-tooling), consists of several components and involves a considerable amount of engineering – from the control system, including the components (electrical or pneumatic) and the necessary sensors, to the individual gripper modules and the gripper body. All the gripping modules and sensors on the gripper body are arranged according to the process.

Our advice is to start simply and don't think too extensive/too complicated. It is better to convert to automation in several steps. Group your part variants into families and keep the manual bypass for rare exotic parts at the edges of the parts spectrum. Or simply reach out to us. We will visit your production facility together with you and identify and evaluate your potential for automation.

There is no general answer to this question. For small batches, it depends on whether and how families can be formed in order to implement simple retooling concepts. It also depends on whether the series are recurring. The cycle time is also relevant. Automation from batch size 1 is usually not really advisable, but for small to medium series there are possibilities for automation under the aforementioned aspects.