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Leveraging robotics for industrial sustainability
Author : Jocelyn Golding, Schneider Electric
05 June 2024
Industrial robots have traditionally been viewed as a high energy consumption technology. However, with next-generation solutions, robotics pave the way for sustainable operations.
Industrial robotics serve a broad and varied purpose across industrial applications, ranging from small intricate assembly lines to huge production facilities, and everything in between. The benefits of leveraging robotics have been widely discussed, highlighting how businesses of any size can improve efficiency and quality while lessening the impact of the skills gap by upskilling the existing workforce into new supervisory roles.
While we are entering the next generation of robotics solutions, a perception from pre-digitalisation has remained: that the technology will always be high energy consumption, working against businesses eager to achieve sustainability goals, when in fact the exact opposite is true.
The latest robotics solutions provide an immense opportunity to contribute towards sustainability goals, delivering value throughout the entire lifecycle of an asset, benefitting both the OEM and end user.
Manufacturers integrating robots and cobots will see faster cycle times, higher yields, greater flexibility, and lower production costs. These robots can take many forms; pick-and-place Delta robots, or linear Cartesian robots with a framework to distribute the weight of products, are just two examples where the technology can be leveraged to prioritise efficiency, while meeting a growing business’s needs.
The greater precision and accuracy offered here will ultimately reduce the number of raw materials used, unlocking an immediate sustainability benefit, and create an opportunity for continued resource optimisation.
Next-generation robotics and cobots, by design, are more energy-efficient than their predecessors, sometimes consuming less power compared to traditional manufacturing methods, depending on the process. Combining this with ongoing energy management software enables OEMs and end users to optimise usage easily throughout a facility, contributing to overall energy savings.
Cobots also play a role in improved sustainability by automating and streamlining complex processes, even when working closely alongside human operators. Businesses across industry can easily remove repetitive and labour-intensive tasks from the operator, creating more time for them to use their expert on-the-job knowledge for sustainability-improving activities.
The flexibility of modern industrial robots means each process, asset, or even full production line can be quickly reconfigured to accommodate changes, or adapted to entirely new products or processes with minimal disruption. All of this equates to a facility that is empowered to make the most of all energy, raw material resources, and expert insight, towards the goal of sustainable operations.
Industrial robots do not only offer an immediate sustainability benefit, but the value extends throughout the lifecycle of an asset. The latest visualisation and integration options rapidly decrease commissioning and corrective action time, whether it is being deployed by an end user or OEM.
Businesses leveraging an interoperable centralised system architecture can further streamline the process of implementing robotics, seamlessly integrating with existing assets, regardless of the original vendor.
Now, industrial businesses of any size or specialism can make use of robotics, whether it is a greenfield site, purpose-built with the latest technology, or an existing facility, filled with a mixture of legacy and new assets, both leveraging the latest technology to improve sustainability.
Sustainability is an important consideration for any industrial business as regulations tighten and the pressure of reaching Net Zero 2050 looms. This priority is shared at small single facilities and global enterprises, not only to reduce the cost of operation, but as part of industry’s collective responsibility to reduce environmental impact.
Robotics pave the way for industrial sustainability, enabling businesses right now to optimise and use less energy, while future-proofing operations, permanently bridging digitalisation progress and sustainability.
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