Which to Automate and Which to Keep away from

What number of several types of meeting duties are there? And which must you automate?

Meeting is probably the most frequent classes of duties that producers select to automate with robots.

When you’re seeking to automate an meeting job in your manufacturing line, there are plenty of choices you possibly can select from.

A few of these duties are simple to automate with a robotic. They’ll give fast returns and could have a excessive impression in your manufacturing. Different meeting duties are extra advanced and could have a much less clear impression in your manufacturing.

Let us take a look at 15 frequent meeting duties. We’ll study that are simple to automate with a robotic and which could be trickier.

What are the broad varieties of manufacturing duties?

There are dozens of various meeting processes in manufacturing. Many of those processes are attainable to automate with a robotic.

You may consider there being 2 broad varieties of duties in manufacturing:

1. Course of duties — These contain taking a workpiece and mechanically altering it so as to add worth to it. Examples of course of duties you may automate are machining, 3D printing, and floor ending.
2. Meeting duties — These contain taking already-processed elements and fixing them collectively.

On this article, we’re specializing in the second of those.

The two varieties of meeting job

You can too consider there as being 2 classes of meeting duties:

1. Everlasting becoming a member of strategies — That is the place the meeting operation is, kind of, non-reversible. Examples embrace welding, brazing, and adhesive bonding.
2. Mechanical becoming a member of strategies — That is the place the operation is, kind of, reversible. Examples embrace screwdriving, inserting, and knotting.

You may automate each varieties of meeting duties with a robotic.

15 frequent meeting varieties and duties

Listed below are 15 frequent meeting duties which may wish to automate. Some are simple to automate with a robotic whereas others are barely tougher.

1. Adhesive bonding

Adhesive bonding includes becoming a member of two surfaces along with a chemical agent to create a powerful bond. The commonest instance of that is gluing.

As a easy shelling out job, it is fairly simple to automate adhesive bonding with a robotic.

2. Bolting

Bolting is without doubt one of the commonest becoming a member of strategies in manufacturing. It includes screwing a nut and bolt collectively. The 2 important varieties of bolted joints are pressure joints and shear joints.

Robotic bolting could be easy (so simple as screwdriving) or extra advanced if the nut is unfixed.

3. Brazing

Brazing is a course of for completely becoming a member of two items of steel collectively. Utilizing a high-temperature flame, you soften a filler steel to fill the be a part of between the 2 items.

Robotic brazing is definitely attainable. Like welding, it requires a specialist setup.

4. Cable tying

Cable ties are a fast and easily-reversible methodology for becoming a member of two gadgets collectively. They’re generally used to affix cables and tubes.

The trickiest a part of cable tying with a robotic is inserting the tip initially. One resolution may very well be to make use of an automated cable tie gun as an finish effector.

5. Clinching

Clinching is a technique for becoming a member of sheet steel with out welding or fasteners. It includes mechanically deforming the steel collectively to kind a powerful joint.

Robotic clinching is definitely attainable. Nonetheless, it tends to require giant industrial robots and customized tooling.

6. Crimping

Crimping, like clinching, includes becoming a member of two or extra supplies by deforming them. A standard instance is wire crimping to affix a wire to a connector.

Crimping finish effectors for robots will not be but widespread, however there are a lot of automated crimping instruments that you possibly can combine with a robotic.

7. Inserting

Inserting is probably the primary operation you consider when you concentrate on “meeting.” It merely includes pushing one half into one other to create a mechanical match.

It is very simple to automate insertion duties with robots, particularly should you use programming options like Spiral Search.

8. Knotting

Knots are a approach to be a part of rope and different cords collectively. It is without doubt one of the best becoming a member of strategies for us people to carry out.

Tying knots with robots is a really advanced job and is the subject of a lot ongoing analysis.

9. Magnet fastening

Generally, we wish to create an meeting be a part of that’s simple to reverse and reattach many occasions. For this, magnet fastening is without doubt one of the commonest becoming a member of strategies.

How simple it’s to automate your specific magnet fastening job with a robotic is dependent upon the particular job.

10. Nailing or stapling

Nailing and stapling meeting duties each contain driving strong steel, pin-shaped fasteners into two items of fabric.

Robotic nailing is kind of frequent. The duty requires a particular automated stapling finish effector.

11. Riveting

What’s probably the most fascinating meeting job? It is riveting.

Jokes apart, riveting is a typical and highly-effective mechanical becoming a member of methodology. It includes driving a steel rivet into two items of fabric and deforming the rivet to create a powerful connection.

Robotic riveting is feasible with a particular riveting finish effector.

12. Screwdriving

Screwdriving is without doubt one of the mostly automated meeting duties.

The robotic picks up a screw from an automatic screw feeder. It then drives the screw into the workpiece utilizing a screwdriving finish effector.

With an off-the-shelf Robotic Screwdriving Answer, you may rapidly and simply deploy your personal screwdriving robotic.

13. Soldering

Soldering is utilized in electronics manufacturing to repair elements to circuit boards. A sizzling soldering iron is held to the steel contacts and solder is melted onto them.

Robotic soldering is an more and more frequent type of meeting automation, utilizing a particular soldering instrument.

14. Staking

Staking includes connecting two elements with an interference match. A steel or plastic “boss” is inserted right into a gap. Then, a excessive power or ultrasound is utilized to deform the boss, fixing it firmly into the outlet.

There are a number of robotic staking options, together with these utilizing ultrasonic staking.

15. Welding

Welding includes making use of warmth, stress, or each, to 2 steel elements. Solder is then utilized to fuse the 2 metals. It differs from brazing in that the warmth is far increased.

Robotic welding is a extremely efficient utility for producers. It affords numerous compelling advantages over guide welding, together with higher consistency, much less post-weld clean-up, and extra environment friendly use of supplies.

Designing for meeting automation: Which to automate

Of all these 15 meeting operations (and any extra you would possibly consider)… which must you automate with a robotic in your facility?

The essential rule is to select a job that’s:

• Easy to automate.
• Excessive impression for your online business.

Say that you just select robotic screwdriving— a quite common job to automate. You may then search for examples of different producers who’ve additionally automated this job with a robotic to learn the way they did it.

Which meeting job will you automate first? Inform us within the feedback beneath or be a part of the dialogue on LinkedIn, Twitter, Fb, or the DoF skilled robotics group.