One of the latest trends in manufacturing is the application of collaborative robots.
These robots are re-deployable, easy to use, and can be used large amount of labor intensive tasks. The cobot market is expanding extremely fast, likely due to the realization of labor shortage this past two years.
Do you want to know which tasks you can easily automate with cobots? At BlueBay, we've helped countless companies automate, and some of the most common tasks that you'll probably find in your process are below.
1) PALLETIZING
If you’ve been looking at “palletizing automation” online, you might have seen those high-volume production solutions. But it's much easier than that... companies using collaborative robots to palletize are becoming more and more common, and here's why:
The first significant benefit you get from cobot palletizing solution is flexibility. They are smaller than traditional robotic palletizers and are easy to reprogram or redeploy. This makes them almost immediately accessible to smaller volume productions, as well.
One of the best grippers that we have used for general palletizing applications is OnRobot's VG10 Vacuum Gripper, as shown below.
OnRobot VG10
VG10 is a flexible, adjustable, electrical vacuum gripper. The gripper features a built-in electric vacuum pump. Since it doesn’t require external air supply, the VG10 is compact and easy to move around, giving you a more flexible production line
2) Sanding
The perks of switching from manual sanding to robotic sanding mainly lie in the increased consistency and precision that your process achieves. When preformed by a robot arm, critical factors such as trajectory, speed, and force are all precisely controlled. This allows for the final product to be consistent each and every time.
When it comes to automated sanding, there are many tequniques and tools that are used in each industry. Random orbital sanders are the most popular because they yield significantly less visible scratch patterns / swell marks due to the randomness of their movement, as well as being very easy to use and operate. You can see what it would look like in the first part of our video below:
Kassow Robots SouthTec Demo
In this video, we can see our demo unit KR810 paired with an OnRobot dual gripper setup that utilizes their VG10 vacuum gripper along with their orbital sander.
3) ROBOTIC SCREWDRIVING
Robotic screwdriving is another great application to automate. Cobots have introduced many benefits for these kinds of operations: improved consistency, reduced injuries, better flexibility, etc. As you already know, programming a cobot doesn’t need extensive robotics knowledge. In other words, automating a screwdriving operation with a collaborative robot is extremely accessible to you, regardless of your skill level.
This type of automation guarantees consistency. Robots don’t make mistakes, and robots don’t get bored with the repetitiveness of the task at hand. Robots don't even go home!
OnRobot Screwdriver
Automated screwdriving to boost productivity and quality has never been easier, smarter, or more cost-effective. The OnRobot intelligent Screwdriver speeds setup and programming, with everything you need right out of the box. Simply mount the Screwdriver on any leading robot arm and install the appropriate bit, then enter screw length and torque directly into the robot’s user interface. Precise torque control and embedded axis eliminate the time and cost for additional integration and ensures consistent, accurate screw insertion. Changeovers to a different screw type or size take just minutes, reducing downtime and boosting ROI.
4) DISPENSING
Dispensing is another application where it’s crucial to be accurate and consistent. Whether to increase productivity or to reduce waste, dispensing is a seamless fit for automation. This is why cobots like Kassow Robots can give your line a higher accuracy level beyond human capabilities.
4 Easy-To-Automate Tasks