by Gary Mintchell | Oct 14, 2024 | Automation, Robots
Fabtech proceeds as scheduled this week in Orlando. I will not be there, but people have sent news. This news comes from my old friends at Universal Robots with new welding solutions for their cobots.
“UR cobots started out predominantly in air-cooled MIG welding solutions placed on carts,” says Will Healy III, global industry leader of welding at Universal Robots. “Now we see cobots take on heavier duty and more advanced tasks such as TIG, laser, and spot welding, along with plasma- and oxyfuel cutting.”
At Universal Robots’ FABTECH booth, attendees will also witness UR cobots ‘going beyond the cart,’ expanding the work envelope. The show is the launchpad for dual-axis cobot welding with coordinated motion through the cobot’s own controller.
“Having the cobot sync up with a rotary positioner or a linear rail, timing it within milliseconds, means our customers can now weld parts they normally couldn’t weld efficiently because they’d either have to stop and manually move the part, or weld it at two different times,” explains Healy.
The capabilities are possible through UR’s MotionPlus package that enables UR’s welding partners to add dual-axis coordinated motion capabilities to their own solutions.
Vectis Automation is launching the Revo Dual Axis system. The new multi-axis positioning method can tackle more complex multi-faceted parts and excel in situations where the fabricator needs to get parts in position relative to gravity. Vectis will also showcase QuickTeach and AI Path Optimization; QuickTeach allows the cobot champion to teach points and optimize paths right at the torch. AI Path Optimization applies user-defined work angles, push/pull angles, and smoothed corner transitions to the weld path – ensuring the weld is always created according to the procedure specifications.
THG Automation will demonstrate multi-axis welding for the first time as well. Their THG Multi-motion features a dual-axis skyhook with a part welded by a UR cobot mounted on a rail, all working in unison. THG is also launching the THG-Multi-Op; two all-in-one systems, one for MIG/TIG and one for cutting and welding, each system has a tool changer that allows the operator to easily switch between applications. Other new THG products at the show include a laser welding system and a new mobile base that gives the user flexibility to bring the system up to unusual sized parts.
Having pioneered ease-of-use in cobot welding with the innovative Beacon-teaching app, Hirebotics is one of the first UR partners to leverage UR’s new PolyScope X platform, implementing Beacon on the UR cobot’s teach pendant in addition to iOS, Android, and any web-based device. Welders can now get instant in-app support through the UR the teach pendant, watch instructional videos, and teach the cobot even complex welds in minutes. New advanced Hirebotics cobot welding features include Enhanced Stitch Welding; delivering the ability to stitch weld through complex paths and Fine Tune; allowing precise adjustments in torch angles and weld points, making it accessible for welders to optimize their work.
New deployment of cobot welders includes the Inrotech-Crawler featuring UR’s smallest UR3 cobot placed on a carriage running on a flexible rail system fixed to the substrate. The Infotech-Crawler specializes in butt-weld connections and multi-pass welding, regardless of the shape or orientation. The robot continuously adjusts the welding parameters according to its changing position (e.g. around a pipe).
Another mobile cobot welder is Hyundai Welding’s portable cobot welding system. Hyundai Welding has worked with the world’s largest and most advanced shipyards to develop an agile solution addressing the tight working environments in welding sections, especially inside-block welding of the ship’s hull.
Welding is not the only task expertly handled by cobots at FABTECH. Alongside demos from Hirebotics, and Vectis Automation, UR’s own booth features the following partner solutions:
The robotic machine tending system AutoTend from Mid Atlantic Machinery, a press brake integration solution featuring a UR10e cobot. AutoTend will bend a candy dish part from type 304 stainless steel. The demo will showcase Mid Atlantic’s patented rotary end-of-arm tooling while demonstrating the ability of the cobot to bend complex parts while interacting directly with the press brake touch screen control.
The Smart Finishing Workcell from Cohesive Robotics, a game-changer for automated surface finishing tasks. At the show, Cohesive Robotics will demonstrate autonomous scanning and on-the-fly programming of a UR cobot to simulate various finishing processes in the booth. Designed for high-mix manufacturing operations, the work cell leverages machine vision and AI to perform common material removal and surface finishing processes on nearly any part, of any quantity, and with no programming required.
Advanced Laser Restoration will be showcasing the next generation of laser cleaning technology, highlighting the seamless integration of advanced laser cleaning systems with robotic automation. By pairing laser cleaning technology with the agility of Universal Robots’ systems, Advanced Laser Restoration automates surface preparation tasks such as rust and coating removal with pinpoint accuracy, reducing downtime and enhancing productivity.
by Gary Mintchell | Oct 2, 2024 | Automation, Robots
A little bit of Cobot news from Denmark. Universal Robots, the Danish collaborative robot (cobot) company, is now increasing the payload capacity on its new-generation, high-payload cobots UR20 and UR30, enabling customers to lift more at no additional cost.
The updates raise the total payload, including end-effector, to 25 and 35 kgs respectively when utilizing the cobot in top lift position. This is especially useful for palletizing applications and solutions.
The additional strength doesn’t require any new purchases and production updates can happen in just minutes. The increased payload can be unlocked by simply updating UR’s PolyScope software to version 5.19 or later. Within 2024, UR20s and UR30s shipped will automatically include the software needed to support the use of higher payloads.
by Gary Mintchell | Sep 25, 2024 | Automation, Robots
Efficiency improvements intrigue me. This technology area of automated storage and retrieval (ASRS) is a little outside my normal purview. The story has merits.
Having witnessed a trend towards more small package orders and less frequent large stock pallet orders, MAHLE Aftermarket selected an efficient AutoStore empowered by Kardex robotic cube storage system to increase capacity and throughput.
Having examined a range of options, MAHLE Aftermarket invested in the AutoStore empowered by Kardex solution. The project has been hailed a success by MAHLE, helping the company store more products in less space and ship small orders more efficiently. The complete AutoStore solution at the Mississippi facility comprises 42,000 bins, 7 ports and 18 robots, in addition to a connected conveyor solution with 18 gravity lanes used for consolidation.
Following the success of the Olive Branch project, MAHLE Aftermarket automated a second operation in Décines-Charpieu (Lyon), France, including 22,440 storage bins, 7 robots and 2 workstations. MAHLE continues to evaluate its other locations worldwide to assess if AutoStore empowered by Kardex can enhance customer service, increase efficiencies, and standardize its operations.
by Gary Mintchell | Sep 11, 2024 | Automation, Robots
I teased about the renewal of Rethink Robotics a couple of weeks ago. This post details some of their announcements from IMTS.
Rethink Robotics Unveils Two New AMRs
With a renewed vision that aims to seamlessly integrate advanced robotics into manufacturing and logistics environments, Rethink Robotics announces the Rethink Ryder line of AMRs. Two models are available on the Rethink Ryder AMR platform. The light-duty MRE 550 model handles payloads of up to 550 kg (1212 pounds), and the heavy-duty MRE 1400 model handles payloads of up to 1400 kg (3086 pounds). Both robots come with an integrated lift function.
Seven New Cobots
The Reacher cobot line includes seven new cobot models (RE 07, 09, 13, 16, 21, 30, and 30L), handling payloads ranging from 7 to 30 kg (15–66 pounds).
RE cobots offer highest precision with ± 0.03 mm pose repeatability — suitable for even the most demanding tasks. Depending on the model, maximum speed ranges from 120 to 200 degrees per second. Reacher cobots feature collision detection to ensure workplace safety and a user-friendly, intuitive interface that feels natural and is easy to use.
Rethink Robotics’ Reacher line comes with connectivity to a wide range of accessories, such as grippers, vision systems, rails, and other end-of-arm and peripheral tools.
Detachable Mobile Manipulator Robot
Unveiling the Rethink Riser MMR. Combining a Rethink Ryder AMR with a Rethink Reacher cobot and a portable battery box allows mobile manipulation to be performed at new levels of efficiency.
The Rethink Reacher and Rethink Ryder, components of the Rethink Riser, each have their own battery packs, requiring separate charging. The Rethink Reacher offers an 22-hour uptime. The Rethink Ryder can be charged in two ways: manually or wirelessly through inductive charging. Each Ryder comes equipped with three or four battery units based on its size. If higher uptime is required, customers can request up to two additional battery units per Ryder.
The control box that comes with Reacher is a compact and integrated unit designed to manage and control the robot’s operations. This control box houses the essential electronics, including the robot’s processor, power supply, and communication interfaces. It serves as the central hub for executing commands, processing sensor data, and coordinating the robot’s movements. The Rethink Riser’s control box is added as an attachment onto the Ryder so it can fully move along with it in combination with the Reacher cobot arm.
by Gary Mintchell | Sep 11, 2024 | Automation, Robots
More robotics news emanating from IMTS, the International Manufacturing Technology Show. This from Olis Robotics who provides remote monitoring, diagnostics, and debugging across complete industrial cells thanks to PLC functionality built into the company’s flagship solution.
This sounds like the dream of 20 years ago and M2M, or machine-to-machine, technology. The problem was, and has been, reluctance of the final customer to allow third parties access to their often-proprietary operating algorithms. Not to mention security risks. But the idea of helping both OEM and user remains intriguing.
Olis provides video and telemetry-based diagnostics for industrial cells, enabling technicians to diagnose the root cause of downtime events, such as a robot failure. Immediate access to diagnostic data enables the robotic cell to be debugged quickly and remotely, slashing manufacturer downtime while empowering integrators to take on more business.
Using Olis software, users can monitor and set alerts for pre-defined runtime parameters through the PLC, including I/Os, registers, and custom tags. Common uses for PLC tags include measuring Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), monitoring cycle times, and fault detection.
For integrators, the new PLC capabilities enhance their ability to debug a system before shipping, and their ability to successfully monitor the system after deployment and remotely monitor and debug entire industrial cells.
For end users, this means reduced downtime costs –not just in cases of robot failure, but across the entire cell. The new functionality can even be used to maintain and improve standards in production throughput. For example, in an application involving a robot inserting bolts into a part, users could create an alert that indicates when the feeder is running low on bolts. The PLC can then send Olis an alert informing the operator that it’s time to refill the feeder.
by Gary Mintchell | Sep 11, 2024 | Automation, Robots
I am writing this from Phoenix while attending the annual meeting of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. That doesn’t prevent reporting on the International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS). Most of the news I’ve seen on the “automation” side concerns robotics and autonomous mobile vehicles. This news comes from Kawasaki.
Perhaps the most intriguing of their announcements concerns the shortage of skilled workforce—an educational robot platform said to be a fraction of the cost of others. Named Astorino, it equips students with the foundational skills needed for modern manufacturing.
Named after the popular open-source Arduino platform and development partner ASTOR, Astorino leverages Kawasaki Robotics’ extensive technology expertise, including hardware, firmware, control system, application software and training. The platform also supplies STL files so students can rapidly print 3D replacement parts for 99% of the robot. It weighs in at 12 kg and is powered by 110 Vac.
At the core of Astorino is a 1kg payload, 6-axis robot with a structure and programming environment nearly identical to that of a Kawasaki industrial robot. It includes a built-in control system; dedicated firmware and software; Modbus TCP and USB/Ethernet communication, and safety functions such as E-Stop and safety brakes. Motor control uses three signals (pulse/direction/enable) and steel gears reduce backlash to <5 arcmin. The robot is flexible and can also be paired with multiple options such as three kinds of grippers, a 24V IO module, a cube feeder with optical sensors and external sensors.
The base price is just $5000.
Now, we turn to industrial-grade robots introduced at the show.
CL Series
Developed in partnership with NEURA Robotics, the CL Series cobots offer industrial scale performance and speed paired with maximum protection without compromising the safety and flexibility advantages of human/robot collaboration. The CL Series cobots can operate without protective covers in crowded and harsh environments. Operating in Zero Gravity (Zero G), the CL Series cobots requires only light guidance and precise adjustments by hand to create highly efficient solutions for applications such as machine tending and welding.
Robotic Machine Tending Shelf System
This turnkey, no code, easy-to-set-up robotic machine tending solution using a modular shelf system for part feeding was developed in partnership with Hurco, a developer of CNC machining equipment. The demo features a Kawasaki RS013N robot, 16 workpieces—four fixtured to pallets and 12 held in 5th Axis LiteVises and a Hurco VM15Di CNC machine that is all operated using Hurco’s WinMax CNC Controls. The system was designed to keep up with customer demand for high-mix, low-volume parts manufacturing without the need to learn how to program a robot. Ultimately, machinists receive a safe solution that can handle a range of part sizes and volumes and can expand capacity to meet highly specific application needs.
Welding Robots
New models featured at IMTS include the BA013N and BA013L with built-in intelligence, real-time path modification, and adaptive arc welding and RTPM capabilities to help manufacturers improve quality and meet production goals.
Robofin
Developed in partnership with AMT and NEFF Automation, this versatile robotic material removal solution solves various finishing needs. RoboFin can handle diverse materials and surface types, increase abrasive life up to 3X, and provide unrivaled precision and consistency to deliver the same high-quality output every time.
K-Positioners
These positioners enable robots to easily manipulate workpiece position to ensure the welding torch is positioned at the optimal angle and distance for consistent, high-quality welds. By automating workpiece movement, positioners speed up the welding process, reducing overall cycle times while at the same time reducing the need for reworking.
