What number of various kinds of meeting duties are there? And which do you have to automate?
Meeting is probably the most widespread 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 lots of choices you might select from.
A few of these duties are straightforward to automate with a robotic. They are going to give fast returns and may have a excessive impression in your manufacturing. Different meeting duties are extra advanced and may have a much less clear impression in your manufacturing.
Let’s take a look at 15 widespread meeting duties. We’ll study that are straightforward to automate with a robotic and which will be trickier.
What are the broad forms of manufacturing duties?
There are dozens of various meeting processes in manufacturing. Many of those processes are potential to automate with a robotic.
You may consider there being 2 broad forms 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 forms of meeting job
It’s also possible to 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 embody welding, brazing, and adhesive bonding.
- Mechanical becoming a member of strategies — That is the place the operation is, kind of, reversible. Examples embody screwdriving, inserting, and knotting.
You may automate each forms of meeting duties with a robotic.
15 widespread meeting varieties and duties
Listed below are 15 widespread meeting duties that may wish to automate. Some are straightforward to automate with a robotic whereas others are barely tougher.
1. Adhesive bonding
Adhesive bonding entails becoming a member of two surfaces along with a chemical agent to create a robust bond. The most typical instance of that is gluing.
As a easy allotting job, 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 forms of bolted joints are pressure 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 steel collectively. Utilizing a high-temperature flame, you soften a filler steel to fill the be part of between the 2 items.
Robotic brazing is actually potential. 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 objects collectively. They’re generally used to hitch cables and tubes.
The trickiest a part of cable tying with a robotic is inserting the tip initially. One answer might be to make use of an computerized 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 entails mechanically deforming the steel collectively to kind a robust joint.
Robotic clinching is actually potential. Nevertheless, it tends to require giant industrial robots and customized tooling.
6. Crimping
Crimping, like clinching, entails becoming a member of two or extra supplies by deforming them. A typical instance is wire crimping to hitch a wire to a connector.
Crimping finish effectors for robots are usually not but widespread, however there are lots of computerized crimping instruments that you might combine with a robotic.
7. Inserting
Inserting is maybe 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 is very straightforward to automate insertion duties with robots, particularly when you use programming options like Spiral Search.
8. Knotting
Knots are a approach 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 job and is the subject of a lot ongoing analysis.
9. Magnet fastening
Typically, we wish 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 explicit magnet fastening job with a robotic will depend on 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 widespread. The duty requires a particular computerized stapling finish effector.
11. Riveting
What’s essentially the most attention-grabbing meeting job? It is riveting.
Jokes apart, riveting is a standard and highly-effective mechanical becoming a member of methodology. It entails driving a steel 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 Resolution, 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 steel contacts and solder is melted onto them.
Robotic soldering is an more and more widespread type of meeting automation, utilizing a particular soldering software.
14. Staking
Staking entails connecting two elements with an interference match. A steel or plastic “boss” is inserted right into a gap. Then, a excessive pressure 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, 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 way larger.
Robotic welding is a extremely efficient utility for producers. It presents 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 may consider)… which do you have to automate with a robotic in your facility?
The essential rule is to choose a job that’s:
- Easy to automate.
- Excessive impression for what you are promoting.
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 part of the dialogue on LinkedIn, Twitter, Fb, or the DoF skilled robotics group.
