Posted by admin on Aug 27, 2010 in Articles | 0 comments
Robotic welding has come of age in the past few years. In advances in computer technology and robotics, simple, repetitive tasks in manufacturing are often performed by robotic welding devices, with a resulting savings in labor and an improvement in safety, since there is less human interaction and less chance for human error.
Trade shows and conventions for the fabrication industry and welding trades often feature robotic welding devices these days. Demonstrations at the trade shows give examples of robotic welding machines doing graceful and complex maneuvers, demonstrating speed and flexibility possible with robots today that were not possible a generation ago.
Industrial robots are used in welding, painting, ironing, assembly, palletizing, pick and place, inspection, and testing of products. Robots have proven themselves to be valuable resources in manufacturing applications in all of these areas.
Any welding task is suitable for automation if the task is repetitive. From a practical, financial standpoint however the number of pieces that need to be welded must be of sufficient quantity to allow a continuous flow, to justify the initial expense of setting up robotic welding machinery. In such instances an automatic welding gun can be placed in a static position or if needed on a curved track to achieve a circular weld. In this type of situation, a work piece can be rotated past the welding gun.
The major manufacturers in three basic sizes offer robotic welding arms. These include a tabletop size with a six-pound payload, a medium sized model with a 13.2 pound payload and larger machines with a 22.2 pound payload. While these robotic welding machines are available new, many used and reconditioned models are also available and popular.
Where robotic welding machines, and industrial robots in general came from is of interest. The first industrial robot, used for simple tasks, was invented in 1962. In 1969 a Stanford University professor developed the Stanford arm, an articulated robot that widened the potential of robots, making robotic welding possible and feasible. By the 1970′s industrial robots were firmly rooted in most industries and robotic welding’s strong points had become obvious to industry. Soon large companies like General Electric and General Motors were manufacturing robots, and several companies n the U.S. stated specifically to manufacture them and market them to industry, including Automatix and Adept Technology, Inc, while Westinghouse Electric Corporation acquired Animation, the grandmaster of industrial robotics. Many Japanese companies also entered the arena.
Today’s popularity of industrial robots, and in particular of robotic welding devices is due to the fact that these machines save man hours, allowing skilled human technicians, including welders, to concentrate on more complicated tasks worthy of their skills and training. Simple and repetitive tasks that would be a waste of a skilled welder’s time are generally handled by robotic welding machines with cost savings in the millions every year, benefiting the companies and stockholders.
Overall, Robotic welding is one of the most advanced computer technologies and robotic welding devices save in labor and an improvement in safety, by reducing human error and human tragedy.
Incoming search terms:
read more
Posted by admin on Aug 15, 2010 in Articles | 0 comments
The importance of automation and robots in all manufacturing industries is growing. Industrial robots have replaced human beings in a wide variety of industries. Robots out perform humans in jobs that require precision, speed, endurance and reliability. Robots safely perform dirty and dangerous jobs. Traditional manufacturing robotic applications include material handling (pick and place), assembling, painting, welding, packaging, palletizing, product inspection and testing. Industrial robots are used in a diverse range of industries including automotive, electronics, medical, food production, biotech, pharmaceutical and machinery. The ISO definition of a manipulating industrial robot is “an automatically controlled, reprogrammable, multipurpose manipulator”. According to the definition it can be fixed in place or mobile for use in industrial automation applications. These industrial robots are programmable in three or more axes. They are multi-functional pieces of equipment that can be custom-built and programmed to perform a variety of operations. The major advantages of industrial robots is that they can be programmed to suit industry specific requirements and can work continuously for years, consistently meeting high manufacturing quality standards. The economic life span of an industrial robot is approximately 12-16 years. Due to their persistent accuracy industrial robots have become an indispensable part of manufacturing. Industrial robots are classified into different categories based on their mechanical structure. The major categories of industrial robots are:
Gantry (Cartesian) Robot: They are stationary robots having three elements of motion. They work from an overhead grid with a rectangular work envelope. They are mainly used to perform ‘pick and place’ actions. Gantry robots have all their axes above the work making them also ideal for dispensing applications.
SCARA Robots: (Selectively Compliant Articulated Robot Arm) These robots have 4 axes of motion. They move within an x-y-z coordinated circular work envelope. They are used for factory automation requiring pick and place work, application and assembly operations and handling machine tools.
Articulated robots: An articulated robot has rotary joints. It can have from two to ten or more interactive joints. Articulated robots are well suited to welding, painting and assembly.
Basic industrial robot designs can be customized with the addition of different peripherals. End effectors, optical systems, and motion controllers are essential add-ons. End effectors are the end-of-arm-tooling (EOAT) attached to robotic arms. Grippers or wrenches that are used to move or assemble parts are examples of end effectors. End effectors are designed and used to sense and interact with the external environment. The end effectors’ design depends on the application requirements of the specific industry. Machine Vision systems are robotic optical systems. They are built-on digital input/output devices and computer networks used to control other manufacturing equipment such as robotic arms. Machine vision is used for the inspection of manufactured goods such as semiconductor chips. Motion controllers are used to move robots and position stages smoothly and accurately with sub-micron repeatability. Industrial robots fill the need for greater precision, reliability, flexibility and production output in the increasingly competitive and complex manufacturing industry environment.
AESG, Automation Equipment Services Group Inc. – experts in automation and robotic equipment maintenance and customer support. To get more information on automation and robotics, visit our website!
read more
