Pick and Place Robots: What Are They Used For
and How Do They Benefit Manufacturers?
Figure-1: Composite-control-architecture-for-an-intelligent-autonomous-mobile-robot
Pick and
place robots have become commonplace in today’s manufacturing environment.
Typically relegated to simple, repetitive and monotonous tasks that robots
naturally excel at, pick and place robots bring a number of benefits for
manufacturers.
What are Pick and Place Robots Used For?
Pick and
place robots are used in many ways, depending on the product being handled and
the manufacturer’s need for automation. There are four main ways that pick and
place robots are used:
1. Assembly: pick and place robots, during
assembly processes, grab an incoming part from a conveyor belt and then place
this part onto another work piece, which is then typically carried away by
another conveyor belt.
2. Packaging: similar to assembly
processes, a pick and place robot grabs a part on an incoming conveyor belt
and, rather than assemble the part, the robot places it in a packaging
container at a high speed.
3. Bin Picking: pick and place robots equipped
with advanced vision systems can grab a part out of a bin, sometimes even when parts
are randomly mixed together in a bin, and place this part on a conveyor for
production.
4. Inspection: vision systems can monitor
products moving on an incoming conveyor belt and detect defective products, and
then a pick and place robot can remove the defective product before it reaches
the final phases of production.
While
pick and place robots are used in a number of different ways, the four types of
applications listed above are some of the most common in today’s manufacturing
facilities.
Types of Industrial Robotic Automation
There are
many different types of automation applications that industrial robots are
equipped to handle. Often, robots are designed or integrated with a specific
task in mind and tailored to meet the unique needs of that task. Some common
forms of industrial robotic automation include:
·
Robotic
welding
·
Robotic
material handling and packaging
·
Robotic
pick and place
·
Robotic
dispensing
·
Robotic
cutting
·
Robotic
non-destructive inspection
Benefits of Industrial Robotic Automation
Industrial
robots have transformed the manufacturing industry for a reason – they come
with many bottom-line benefits. Their first and most important benefit is their
efficiency. They complete tasks more quickly than manual labours, and their
uptime is significantly higher. The combination of speed and uptime leads to
higher throughput at lower operating costs.
To learn
more about industrial robots, watch our free webinar from exclusive sponsor
Epson, “The Starting Point
for Robot Automation: A Beginner’s Tour.”
Assistant Professor,
Ridhdhi Naik
Bhagwan Mahavir
College of Engineering and technology,
Surat
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