Chapter 1: Industrial Applications Presented by

Dr. G.H. Massiha Department of Industrial Technology University of Louisiana, Lafayette Teaching Assistant: Kuldeep S Rawat ITEC 424 (Robotics) MS Computer Engineering/Science

Industrial Applications
Objectives Be acquainted with automation in manufacturing. Understand Robot applications. Recognize material-handling applications Be familiar with processing operations Be informed of assembly and inspection operations Apprehend how to evaluate the potential of a robot application Be aware of future applications Perceive the challenge for the future Be informed of innovations Be acquainted with case studies.

Automation in Manufacturing
Goal: To integrate various operations to :

Improve Productivity Increase product quality and Uniformity Minimize cycle times and effort Reduce labor cost

Computers allows us to integrate virtually all phases of manufacturing operations. Computer-integrated manufacturing(CIM): Is the computerized integration of all aspects of design, planning, manufacturing, distribution, and management. Automation Technologies:

Numerical Control(NC): capability of flexibility of operations, low cost, and ease of making different parts with lower operator skill. Adaptive Control(AC): Continuously monitor the operation and make necessary adjustments in process parameters.

Automation in Manufacturing
Flexible Manufacturing System(FMS): Integrate manufacturing cells into a large unit, containing industrial robots servicing several machines, all interfaced with a central host computer. Artificial Intelligence(AI): Involves the use do machines, computers and industrial robots to replace human intelligence. Expert Systems(ES):Intelligent programs to perform tasks and solve difficult real life problems. Hence the applications of Robots in manufacturing are much broader than most people realize.

Robot Applications
Need to replace human labor by robots:

Work environment hazardous for human beings Repetitive tasks Boring and unpleasant tasks Multishift operations Infrequent changeovers Performing at a steady pace Operating for long hours without rest Responding in automated operations Minimizing variation

Industrial Applications(contd.)
Industrial Robot Applications can be divided into:

Material-handling applications:
Involve the movement of material or parts from one location to

another. It include part placement, palletizing and/or depalletizing, machine loading and unloading.

Processing Operations:
Requires the robot to manipulate a special process tool as the end

effector. The application include spot welding, arc welding, riveting, spray painting, machining, metal cutting, deburring, polishing.

Assembly Applications:
Involve part-handling manipulations of a special tools and other

automatic tasks and operations.

Inspection Operations:
Require the robot to position a workpart to an inspection device. Involve the robot to manipulate a device or sensor to perform the

inspection.

Material Handling Applications

Part Placement Palletizing and/or depalletizing Machine loading and/or unloading Stacking and insertion operations

The robot must have following features to facilitate material handling:

The manipulator must be able to lift the parts safely. The robot must have the reach needed. The robot must have cylindrical coordinate type. The robots controller must have a large enough memory to store all the programmed points so that the robot can move from one location to another. The robot must have the speed necessary for meeting the transfer cycle of the operation.

Material-handling(contd.)
Part Placement:

The basic operation in this category is the relatively simple pick-andplace operation. This application needs a low-technology robot of the cylindrical coordinate type. Only two, three, or four joints are required for most of the applications. Pneumatically powered robots are often utilized.

Palletizing and/or Depalletizing

The applications require robot to stack parts one on top of the other, that is to palletize them, or to unstack parts by removing from the top one by one, that is depalletize them. Example: process of taking parts from the assembly line and stacking them on a pallet or vice versa.

Machine loading and/or unloading:

Robot transfers parts into and/or from a production machine. There are three possible cases:
Machine loading in which the robot loads parts into a production

machine, but the parts are unloaded by some other means.

Example: a pressworking operation, where the robot feeds sheet blanks into the press, but the finished parts drop out of the press by gravity.

Machine loading in which the raw materials are fed into the machine

without robot assistance. The robot unloads the part from the machine assisted by vision or no vision.

Example: bin picking, die casting, and plastic moulding.

Machine loading and unloading that involves both loading and

unloading of the workparts by the robot. The robot loads a raw work part into the process ad unloads a finished part.

Example: Machine operation

Difficulties

Difference in cycle time between the robot and the production machine. The cycle time of the machine may be relatively long compared to the robots cycle time.

Stacking and insertion operation:

In the stacking process the robot places flat parts on top of each other, where the vertical location of the drop-off position is continuously changing with cycle time. In the insertion process robot inserts parts into the compartments of a divided carton.

Processing Operations
Processing Operations:

Robot performs a processing procedure on the part. The robot is equipped with some type of process tooling as its end effector. Manipulates the tooling relative to the working part during the cycle. Industrial robot applications in the processing operations include:
Spot welding Continuous arc welding Spray painting Metal cutting and deburring operations Various machining operations like drilling, grinding, laser and waterjet

cutting, and riveting. Rotating and spindle operations Adhesives and sealant dispensing

Assembly Operations
Assembly Operations:

The applications involve both material-handling and the manipulation of a tool. They typically include components to build the product and to perform material handling operations. Are traditionally labor-intensive activities in industry and are highly repetitive and boring. Hence are logical candidates for robotic applications. These are classified as:
Batch assembly: As many as one million products might be assembled.

The assembly operation has long production runs. Low-volume: In this a sample run of ten thousand or less products might be made.

The assembly robot cell should be a modular cell. One of the well suited area for robotics assembly is the insertion of odd electronic components.
Figure illustrates a typical overall electronic assembly operation.

Inspection Operations
Inspection Operation:

Some inspection operation require parts to be manipulated, and other applications require that an inspection tool be manipulated. Inspection work requires high precision and patience, and human judgment is often needed to determine whether a product is within quality specifications or not. Inspection tasks that are performed by industrial robots can usually be divided into the following three techniques:
By using a feeler gauge or a linear displacement transducer known as a

linear variable differential transformer(LVDT), the part being measured will come in physical contact with the instrument or by means of air pressure, which will cause it to ride above the surface being measured. By utilizing robotic vision, matrix video cameras are used to obtain an image of the area of interest, which is digitized and compared to a similar image with specified tolerance. By involving the use of optics and light, usually a laser or infrared source is used to illustrate the area of interest.

Inspection Operations(contd.)

The robot may be in active or passive role.

good or bad. In the passive role the robot feeds a gauging station with the part. While the gauging station is determining whether the part meets the specification, the robot waits for the process to finish.

Evaluating the potential of a Robot Applications

Analysis of the application

Feasibility Study
How a more automated system will affect related operations in the plant Material-handling methods Commercial equipment available CAD cell simulation

System Proposal
Functional specifications System operation Robot type Tooling Peripheral equipment

System Design
Microprocessor control Software Multiple levels of control

Construction Phase
It is a good procedure for the system to be set up and thoroughly

tested at the suppliers facility. This will minimize the interruption of current production procedures.

Installation Phase
It is a good practice for the supplier to supervise the step-by-step

installation of the system.

Training and Documentation

persons who will interface with the new automated system. The supplier should provide the design drawings and documentation for system control, operation, and maintenance.

Future Applications
The keys areas to be explored for robot applications in future are:

The medical applications of the robot:

Underwater applications
Involve prospecting for minerals on the floor of the ocean. Salvaging of sunken vessels, repair the ship either at sea or in dry

dock. Mobile firefighters to be used by Air force and Navy.

Surveillance and Guard duty

are potential targets of terrorist groups.

In summary, some future foreseen applications are listed as follows:

Aerospace Agriculture Construction Health Nuclear Textile Lab automation Underwater surveying Surveillance and guard duty Navigation systems Firefighting Household robot

Note: All these applications will need to be more intelligent in order to make rapid decisions based on current sensory information.