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What number of various kinds of meeting duties are there? And which do you have to automate?
Meeting is likely one of the commonest classes of duties that producers select to automate with robots.
In the event you’re seeking to automate an meeting activity in your manufacturing line, there are numerous choices you may select from.
A few of these duties are straightforward to automate with a robotic. They are going to give fast returns and could have a excessive influence in your manufacturing. Different meeting duties are extra advanced and could have a much less clear influence in your manufacturing.
Let’s take a look at 15 widespread meeting duties. We’ll look at that are straightforward to automate with a robotic and which will be trickier.
What are the broad kinds of manufacturing duties?
There are dozens of various meeting processes in manufacturing. Many of those processes are potential to automate with a robotic.
You’ll be able to consider there being 2 broad kinds of duties in manufacturing:
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 possibly can automate are machining, 3D printing, and floor ending.
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 kinds of meeting activity
You can too consider there as being 2 classes of meeting duties:
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.
Mechanical becoming a member of strategies — That is the place the operation is, kind of, reversible. Examples embrace screwdriving, inserting, and knotting.
You’ll be able to automate each kinds of meeting duties with a robotic.
15 widespread meeting sorts and duties
Listed here are 15 widespread meeting duties that may need to automate. Some are straightforward to automate with a robotic whereas others are barely more durable.
1. Adhesive bonding
Adhesive bonding entails becoming a member of two surfaces along with a chemical agent to create a robust bond. The commonest instance of that is gluing.
As a easy dishing out activity, it is fairly straightforward to automate adhesive bonding with a robotic.
2. Bolting
Bolting is likely one of the commonest becoming a member of strategies in manufacturing. It entails screwing a nut and bolt collectively. The 2 predominant kinds of bolted joints are rigidity joints and shear joints.
Robotic bolting will 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 metallic collectively. Utilizing a high-temperature flame, you soften a filler metallic to fill the be part of between the 2 items.
Robotic brazing is definitely potential. Like welding, it requires a specialist setup.
4. Cable tying
Cable ties are a fast and easily-reversible technique for becoming a member of two objects collectively. They’re generally used to affix cables and tubes.
The trickiest a part of cable tying with a robotic is inserting the top initially. One answer 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 metallic with out welding or fasteners. It entails mechanically deforming the metallic collectively to type a robust joint.
Robotic clinching is definitely potential. Nonetheless, it tends to require massive industrial robots and customized tooling.
6. Crimping
Crimping, like clinching, entails 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 aren’t but widespread, however there are lots of automated crimping instruments that you may combine with a robotic.
7. Inserting
Inserting is probably the primary operation you consider when you concentrate on “meeting.” It merely entails pushing one half into one other to create a mechanical match.
It’s totally straightforward to automate insertion duties with robots, particularly in case you use programming options like Spiral Search.
8. Knotting
Knots are a method to be part of rope and different cords collectively. It is likely one of the best becoming a member of strategies for us people to carry out.
Tying knots with robots is a really advanced activity and is the subject of a lot ongoing analysis.
9. Magnet fastening
Generally, we need to create an meeting be part of that’s straightforward to reverse and reattach many instances. For this, magnet fastening is likely one of the commonest becoming a member of strategies.
How straightforward it’s to automate your specific magnet fastening activity with a robotic will depend on the particular activity.
10. Nailing or stapling
Nailing and stapling meeting duties each contain driving strong metallic, pin-shaped fasteners into two items of fabric.
Robotic nailing is kind of widespread. The duty requires a particular automated stapling finish effector.
11. Riveting
What’s probably the most attention-grabbing meeting activity? It is riveting.
Jokes apart, riveting is a standard and highly-effective mechanical becoming a member of technique. It entails driving a metallic rivet into two items of fabric and deforming the rivet to create a robust connection.
Robotic riveting is feasible with a particular riveting finish effector.
12. Screwdriving
Screwdriving is likely 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 possibly can shortly and simply deploy your individual screwdriving robotic.
13. Soldering
Soldering is utilized in electronics manufacturing to repair elements to circuit boards. A sizzling soldering iron is held to the metallic contacts and solder is melted onto them.
Robotic soldering is an more and more widespread type of meeting automation, utilizing a particular soldering device.
14. Staking
Staking entails connecting two elements with an interference match. A metallic 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 opening.
There are a number of robotic staking options, together with these utilizing ultrasonic staking.
15. Welding
Welding entails making use of warmth, strain, or each, to 2 metallic elements. Solder is then utilized to fuse the 2 metals. It differs from brazing in that the warmth is way greater.
Robotic welding is a extremely efficient software for producers. It gives varied 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 may consider)… which do you have to automate with a robotic in your facility?
The fundamental rule is to select a activity that’s:
Easy to automate.
Excessive influence for your small business.
Say that you just select robotic screwdriving— a quite common activity to automate. You’ll be able to then search for examples of different producers who’ve additionally automated this activity with a robotic to find out how they did it.
Which meeting activity will you automate first? Inform us within the feedback under or be part of the dialogue on LinkedIn, Twitter, Fb, or the DoF skilled robotics group.
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