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How collaborative robots can boost productivity
08 April 2021
Collaborative robots are fast becoming the benchmark in industrial automation for their ability to offer higher productivity while working safely alongside human workers. Compact and lightweight, they are the ideal fit for the evolving needs of the factory of the future.
For today’s manufacturing companies, cobots offer many benefits.
One example is their ability to work safely alongside humans without the need for guarding. This makes them ideal for applications where the robot can maximise productivity without compromising on safety. Applications can include both continuous and intermittent collaboration, such as final trim and assembly in automotive manufacturing where some human interaction is needed.
Collaborative robots also provide the flexibility to manage the shift to low-volume/high-mix production. Collaborative robots add agility to change between products and introduce new products faster. The people on the production line contribute their problem-solving capabilities, insights and adaptability to change, while robots bring tireless precision and endurance for repetitive tasks.
Big potential in a small size
According to research firm Markets and Markets, the global market for collaborative robots is estimated to be worth $12.30 billion by 2025, with a compound annual growth rate of more than 50 percent. One key driver for growth is the development of collaborative robots for manufacturing environments. While robotic automation technology has evolved to meet the growing demands for high volume industrial production, it has also led to the creation of smaller collaborative robots such as ABB’s YuMi, which are designed to fit easily into existing production lines to increase productivity while working safely alongside people.
With their variety of mounting options and features including an easy-to-install design and simple programming, collaborative robots offer an ideal automation solution for smaller manufacturers. Collaborative robots are also much less costly to install, typically reducing the investment needed for a robotic work cell to under $50,000.
Filling the talent gap
Many manufacturers are struggling to find experienced workers. Many young people who have grown up in the digital world associate manufacturing with dirty, dull, dangerous and repetitive tasks such as assembling parts, tending to machines or packaging finished goods. Also, with shorter product life cycles, small manufacturers operating in high labour cost countries cannot simply outsource to low-cost countries like large corporations do. In these conditions, collaborative robots not only reduce the need for manual labour, but can work tirelessly and with higher quality, allowing their human co-workers to perform more stimulating work that can lead to higher job satisfaction.
Hit the ground running
The plug-and-play qualities of modern cobots significantly reduce installation times, minimising interference with production processes. Their small footprint and portability make them suitable both for automating existing production lines and deployment in more diverse applications.
Technological advances have also made collaborative robots far more intuitive. Features such as lead-through programming and user-friendly touch screen interface allow operators with no programming experience to quickly program the robot. Offline simulation tools such as ABB’s RobotStudio allow operators to program the robot and simulate an application on a PC without shutting down production. This helps reduce the time taken to get the robot running, ideal for organisations that have short product cycles. Moreover, digital twin technology can be used to develop a complete and operational virtual representation of a robot on which diagnostics, prediction and simulation can be run to optimise the machine even before it is set up.
Innovating for the future, today
With the restrictions on worker mobility and availability caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, it is likely that more companies will start to look towards the possibilities offered by robotic automation in general, and collaborative robots in particular, as a way of shoring up their workforces. These possibilities are likely to expand as robot manufacturers and their partners work to develop enhanced software features such as cloud connectivity, artificial intelligence and machine learning that increase their functionalities and make them safer, more adaptable and flexible and easier to use.
For more information, visit https://bit.ly/ABB_Collaborative.
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