A Glimpse of Industrial Robots in Advanced Manufacturing
Published on : Sunday 29-03-2020
Advances in robotics have enabled diverse industries, especially manufacturing, to improve their operations at a rapid pace. The industrial robots for manufacturing are able to handle a variety of tasks and applications. In general, an industrial robot is an automatically controlled, reprogrammable, multipurpose manipulator programmable in three or more axes. The most prevalent use of robot configurations for industrial automation, includes articulated robots, SCARA robots and gantry robots. In the context of general robotics, most varieties of industrial robots would fall into the category of robot arms.
Industrial robots can considerably advance product quality. Their applications are performed with precision and better repeatability on every job. This level of reliability can be intricate to attain any other way. Robots are often being upgraded, but some of the most precise robots leveraged these days have a repeatability of +/-0.02mm. They also have the ability to augment workplace safety.
The use of Robots in Manufacturing
Robots play a significant role in the manufacturing sector. Fully autonomous robots in this field, for instance, are commonly required for high-volume, repetitive processes where the speed, accuracy and sturdiness of a robot deliver unparalleled advantages. In other manufacturing applications, robots are used to lend assistance to people with more complex tasks. They integrate components of the process like lifting, holding and moving heavy pieces.
Moreover, robotic process automation (RPA) allows manufacturers to stay competitive, providing an efficient, feasible alternative to offshoring and gratifying the skills gap in areas where it may be complicated to procure the necessary employees. Robots in manufacturing enable workers to concentrate more on innovation, efficiency and other valuable tasks, as well as more obscure processes that create opportunities for growth and success.
Robots are also able to create efficiencies all the way from raw material handling to complete product packing. They can be programmed to operate 24/7 in lights-out situations for relentless production. By using robotics at a large scale, manufacturers can embrace automation to stay competitive. Automation can be highly cost-efficient for almost every size of companies, including small stores.
Artificial Intelligence and Robotics
Artificial intelligence has already disrupted almost every industry and the robotics industry is not an exception. Currently, the innovative integration of AI and robotics has created an array of futuristic possibilities in automation. In the world of robotics, the application of AI is largely enhancing industrial robotics capabilities. As researchers and industry analysts are yet to realize the full potential of AI and robotics, the present use cases illustrate a vivacious future.
Conventional robots are equipped with the ability to pick objects in a programmed trajectory as long as the objects are already known and their spatial location defined. But when fitted with sensors, modern robots are programmable through AI to identify a specific object despite its location on the working space.
An AI-powered robot can maneuver through its path of travel by creating a real-time update of a pre-programmed map or developing a navigational map from scratch in real-time. It plans a path to the planned destination, detecting the impediments in its path and re-planning the path as it travels.
Today, robots are largely involved in automotive manufacturing, and I believe as they become smaller and more accurate, they will also make their presence in the electronics manufacturing sector to assist with building complex things like smartphones or microchips.