A Place for Every Robot and Every Robot in its Place

Robots are continuing to advance significantly, creating a diverse ecosystem of solutions, which support an increasing variety of industries and applications. As a result, future-oriented factories are able to select robotic systems that meet the requirements and goals of virtually any activity. Thanks to its comprehensive range of robots, Mitsubishi Electric can help companies build smart and customised automation solutions that improve shop floor operations.

As the smart factories of the future are steadily becoming a reality, robots within these facilities are automating a wide range of activities, enhancing productivity, efficiency and safety. Thanks to the growing variety of robotic systems available, finding the ideal solution for a specific task has never been easier. Whether the goal is delivering high-speed performance, safely working alongside humans or fitting in compact environments, companies can select the system that is most suited to their intended application.

Increasing Productivity Whilst Keeping Employees Safe

It is getting harder and harder to attract people into the manufacturing industry, therefore the employees available need to be able to operate as effectively as possible. Having them perform repetitive tasks does nothing for the employee nor the employer. For the employee, these are not interesting, motivating or well-paid activities. For the employer, positions involving such tasks are hard to fill, there is a risk of injury through repetitive strain injuries (RSIs) and involve inefficiencies. Automation can free up human labour, enabling staff to get involved in more enticing activities.

Furthermore, whilst labour costs have and will continue to rise, the cost of automation remains constant, or even decreasing. There has never been a more cost-effective opportunity to move to automated solutions. Thanks to automation, production can continue whilst the factory is unmanned, for example at night. This could help businesses manufacture high-volume products at night, whilst small batch items can be made during the day, as they require manual interventions.

Industrial robots can be at the centre of this move towards automation. They are easy to install, can be easily integrated, offer flexibility, high accuracy and fast movements. Their fast cycle times can even increase productivity. Even more, robots can operate in many different environments, such as automotive, electronics, pharmaceutical and food and beverage facilities.

In effect, a broad range of robotic solutions are available to address a variety of requirements, from large solutions for heavy weightlifting to accurate dispensing of liquids with microlitre accuracies.

A Robotic Solution for Constrained Workspaces

This means that automated machines don’t necessarily need large work envelopes, as many tasks involving lightweight items, also take up less space. There are many processes where compact, cost-effective set-ups are not only beneficial but actually a must. For example, where space is limited, technologies with a smaller footprint can be deployed to improve low to medium complexity applications.

To address these requirements, companies can select space-saving products such as those in Mitsubishi Electric’s RH-CH series of small and highly economical SCARA robots. These, as well as the RV series of six-axis industrial robots, can be equipped with the MELFA SafePlus safety system to make the most of compact workspaces by leveraging cooperative functionalities. In practice, the robots can operate at high speed when their workspace is clear, but slow down or stop completely if movement is detected in their vicinity. This is achieved using safety sensors, combined with a built-in safety monitoring function in the robot’s controller. As a result, industrial robots in cooperative mode can be utilised in an open environment, without requiring a physical safety barrier.

Integrating robots into a process has never been easier than with MELSEC iQ-R and iQ-F series PLCs. Connected to these PLCs, GOT 2000 HMIs and to the Cloud, highly interconnected robots can help to create connected factories for next-level performance and smart operations. Finally, they can be linked to software platforms that support real-time troubleshooting, maintenance and diagnostics, such as the GENESIS64 visualisation tool from ICONICS.

Hand in (Robotic) Hand

When companies need to accommodate limited space and frequent interactions between operators and robots, collaborative robots are the answer. These incorporate advanced safety features include a special design to prevent pinch points, limited torque and speed as well as the possibility to stop the robot by hand.

An example of such a robotic system is Mitsubishi Electric’s articulated arm MELFA Assista. It can share its workspace with humans, thanks to a number of collaborative functions, such as collision detection and compliance with the international safety and robotic standards ISO 10218-1 and ISO/TS15066. The cobot is also coupled with an intuitive, touch-enabled engineering software, RT VisualBox, for the creation of operating sequences without any programming knowledge.

Besides, the MELFA Assista offers an additional hand-guided teaching function. Users can manually move the cobot into a position, which is then added to the work sequence by pressing a button on the robotic arm.

Finally, external devices, such as vision systems, can be connected to the collaborative solutions to develop cutting-edge applications.

Automation on the Move

With such a comprehensive portfolio of robotic systems, Mitsubishi Electric can provide the right solution for a wide range of applications. Backed by extensive experience and technical knowledge, the company’s specialists can provide guidance on which robot is best for any customer project. As a result, machine builders and users can enhance their operations and, ultimately, their competitiveness in a fast-paced marketplace.

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Want a Robot but Don’t Know Where to Start?

Industrial or collaborative? This is the question everyone is asking. We all want to get the most out of our production, however the demarcation line between the two options is not as clear as you might think. It all depends on the setting in which the machine operates, how operators need to interact with the robot and its main functions.

Barry Weller, Solutions Marketing Manager – OEM at Mitsubishi Electric, looks at how to identify what type of robot is best suited for your application and how to integrate it.

The first question that companies interested in automating their processes should ask is: what do we want to achieve? The answer to this will determine the role and type of robot needed. Consequently, conducting a comprehensive risk assessment will shed light on the safety requirements.

For example, if speeding up operations is the main objective behind deploying a robotic solution, conventional industrial robots, such as Mitsubishi Electric’s MELFA RV articulated arm and RH series SCARA robots, are quite likely to be the most suitable option. As the application will dictate, these robots move at high speed which means they are suitable for applications where workspace is to be shared with human operators only by adopting additional safety provisions. The options to integrate them are to construct physical safety perimeter guards or implement systems that allow automated speed control when humans approach the robot working area.

Conversely, if the main goal is assisting employees in their activities, for example by passing or holding parts, the application would be considered collaborative. As a result, any conventional physical separation between humans and robots would obstruct the application. In this case, the ISO/TS 15066:2016 standard supports the development of suitable safety measures, as highlighted by the risk assessment. An example of a robot designed for collaborative applications is Mitsubishi Electric’s MELFA RV series Assista articulated arm robot.

The guidelines indicate different types of collaborative applications which include safety-rated monitored stop, speed and separation monitoring, hand guiding as well as power and force limiting.

This is where the grey area between the two types of robot starts to appear. With the increase in safety options now available, industrial robots can also achieve many of the requirements needed in a collaborative application.

Industrial or collaborative robot?

Designed to work alongside humans collaborative robots or ‘cobots’, can provide a safe solution. However, there are some obvious caveats.

The term collaborative, as specified by ISO/TS 15066:2016, actually refers to systems or applications where automatically operated robots share the same workspace with humans. This means that robots for collaborative applications, just like any other type of robot, still require a risk assessment.

There are different industrial operations whose risk assessment would support the use of cobots, for example, if the robot is required to work alongside the human as part of the assembly process to pass objects to operators. Here the risk of a collision between the two is high and so this application would fall into the category of power and force limiting. Features such as safe torque range to detect the impact and prevent injury are needed.

There are situations where the use of robots would require additional safety measures. For example, if potentially harmful chemicals, sharp edges or extremely hot items need to be handled, the robot would need to be enclosed by physical safety perimeter guards to protect human operators. Because of this, the use of a conventional robot is likely to be the right choice for these applications.

In other situations humans may need to infrequently enter a robot’s workspace to briefly interact with the application or there could be a limited area of interaction. These systems will run as fast as possible under normal operation and only slow down when there is a risk of collision. Again this would suggest that a conventional industrial robot would be right for this application due to its ability to operate at high speeds in normal safe operating conditions.

As suggested, the most effective way to make such applications fast, safe and reliable would be to utilise standard industrial robots operating in a cooperative way, coupled with additional safety features such as physical guards or safety light curtains and scanners.

More precisely, businesses can implement high-speed, high-payload industrial robots, such as the MELFA RV articulated arm robot, equipped with a MELFA SafePlus safety system from Mitsubishi Electric. This means humans and robots can work safely and in harmony.

Making the right choice

As technology evolves, the line between industrial and collaborative robotic applications also changes. The most important consideration when implementing a robotic system is to ensure the system meets the needs of the specific application and delivers against the user requirement specification. The system must achieve both the throughput required and also operate in a safe environment for operators in line with the risk assessment for the application.

The inclusion of collaborative robots has widened the choice and the type of applications that robotics can now be used for. It is not a question of which is best, industrial or collaborative robotics but which is best for the application. With its wealth of experience and proven track record, the robotics team at Mitsubishi Electric helps businesses find the right solution.

Thanks for reading!

Like what you read? This article was published by Mitsubishi Electric. For more information go to www.mitsubishielectric.com

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