Companies are applying robotics to business, with some very specific use cases. One is the use of cobots for machine tending.
First of all, what is a cobot? It’s short for ‘collaborative robot,’ and the cobot is now a common part of manufacturing processes. This robot, either mobile or fixed, collaborates with humans to complete business processes, for instance:
- Building manufactured items
- Assessing items for defect
- Packing items for shipping
- Making prototypes or design pieces
Collaborative robots can also do another major thing in industrial workflows – they can take care of other machines that may not have the same capabilities. Experts refer to this as “machine tending.” It’s the idea that the cobot, as a sort of sentient AI, can do what humans would otherwise do as machine operators. The efficiencies are obvious, but the standard is that the cobot has to be able to imitate human work well, something that really wasn’t viable until the recent explosion of artificial intelligence, and the emergence of systems like wireless industrial networks.
Machine Tending Tasks
One of the most common kinds of machine tending for a cobot is the loading and unloading of industrial machines that are involved in turning out custom parts runs, in materials like wood or metal.
In metalworking machining, cobots can feed heavy parts into a particular machine, and then receive them after they are processed and send them along to another station.
In addition to loading and unloading, the cobots can monitor processes, and do other useful things on the job floor.
Other Auxiliary Tasks
Although many people tend to think of cobots for machine tending in terms of feeding the machines, or being directly related to the work turnout process, these machines can also do other things that humans used to do in the workspace.
Some of these involve the routine washing, sweeping or blowing away of stray material. When a machine process results in small bits of material accumulating in the workspace, the cobots can be programmed to regularly get rid of it.
Another major use is polishing or deburring of finished parts. Traditionally, humans dealt with these imperfections using hand tools or other systems. Now, this part of the process can be automated as well.
All of this cuts down on the need for human labor, and allows the human machine operators to focus on higher-level core tasks.
Things to Look For In Machine Tending Cobots
Companies that are looking for cobots for machine tending can look at these and other various criteria:
- Compatibility
- Compactness
- Intuitive controls
- Load capacity
- Speed
In terms of compatibility, buyers want the cobots to be easily integrated with existing systems. Compactness allows these installations to be put in corners or small areas of a manufacturing facility.
Intuitive controls like BTVO4 Series panels are important, too. Companies will have to be training human staff on these technologies, and if the controls aren’t easy to use, there is the temptation to not use the system, or to go to some other alternative.
Computer Vision and Cobot Breakthroughs
One of the biggest pieces of new robotics capability in industrial business has to do with computer vision.
Computer vision is the capability through which cobots can accurately place materials, figure out where other machines are, and generally assess an industrial environment.
Prior to the last decade or so, systems didn’t have computer vision, and so they were limited to more primitive types of machine tending. Now, with robust vision processes, they can do a lot more. If you want you can also read- 10 Best New Technology Trends in 2023
Benefits of Robots for Machine Tending
Using cobots for machine tending the companies spare the human workers the tedious and often difficult process of loading and unloading machines with heavy parts.
They can also alleviate certain ergonomic dangers or dangers of workplace injury.
Cobot installations can drive productivity and profit. Leaders can look at cost centers and evaluate how using cobots might help cut money out of the budget, or, in a different framing, provide maximal ROI.
Most experts would say it’s helpful to have a human in the loop (HITL) role with these technologies. The cobots can do a lot of things, but some type of human oversight will help fine-tune the business processes at hand.
Using cobots for machine tending and related tasks is just one of the many ways that businesses are jumping on the AI bandwagon, and participating in the fourth Industrial Revolution, in which automation is changing nearly everything about how we work. Take a look at how the fruits of this new era can help your enterprise to innovate and compete.
You May Find Interest: How does Artificial Intelligence Help Malware to Spread?