The robot is changing the modern factory, the key is how to use it

Abstract McKinsey & Co., Ltd. recently published an article entitled "Automation, Robotics and Future Plants", saying that cheaper, more powerful and more flexible technologies are accelerating the development of fully automated production facilities. For enterprises, the main challenge will be. ..
McKinsey & Co., Ltd. recently published an article entitled "Automation, Robotics and Future Plants", saying that cheaper, more powerful and more flexible technologies are accelerating the development of fully automated production facilities. For companies, the main challenge will be Decide how best to use them.
In Fanuc's factory in Oshino-mura, Japan, industrial robots produce robots with only four employees in charge of supervisors. At Philips' electric razor factory in the Netherlands, the number of robots is more than 14 times that of the production workers, and the latter has only 9 people. Camera manufacturer Canon began to phase out human labor in several of its factories in 2013.
This "lighting out" production concept - the complete automation of manufacturing activities and material processes - is becoming an increasingly common feature of modern manufacturing. To some extent, a new wave of automation will be driven by the factors that brought robots and automation technology to the workplace: freeing human workers from dirty, boring or dangerous work; And reduce variability to improve product quality; reduce manufacturing costs by replacing increasingly costly labor with lower cost machines.
However, today's state-of-the-art automation systems have additional features that enable them to be used in environments that were previously unsuitable for automation and to create new value in manufacturing.
1. The price of robots declines With the increasing popularity of robot production, the cost of robots has declined. In the past 30 years, the average price of robots has fallen by half in real terms, and it has fallen even more than labor costs. As demand from emerging economies encourages the transfer of robotic production to lower-cost regions, their prices are likely to decline further.
2. Talents are more accessible People with the skills needed to design, install, operate and maintain robotic production systems are becoming more common. Robot engineers have been quite rare and are experts with high employment costs. Today, robot-related disciplines are taught in schools around the world, either as specialized courses or as part of a general education in manufacturing technology or manufacturing engineering. Software availability, such as simulation packages and off-line programming systems for testable robotics applications, has reduced engineering time and risk. It also makes the robot programming task easier and the cost becomes more.
3, easy to integrate Computational performance, software development technology and network technology advancement, improve the speed of assembly, installation and maintenance of the robot, while reducing the associated costs. For example, sensors and brakes used to have to be individually connected to the robot controller through special wiring through terminal frames, connectors and junction boxes, but now they can take advantage of plug-and-play technology, making component utilization relatively simple The network wiring is connected. These components will automatically identify the control system, thus significantly reducing setup time. These sensors and brakes are also self-monitoring, reporting their status to the control system, assisting process control, collecting data for maintenance, and enabling continuous improvement and troubleshooting purposes. Other standards and networking technologies also make connecting robots to a wider range of production systems simple and straightforward.
4. New capabilities Robots are also becoming smarter. Early robots only followed the same path blindly, and later iterative versions used laser or vision systems to detect the direction of components and materials. The latest generation of robots can integrate information from different sensors and adjust their movements in real time. For example, this allows them to use force feedback to simulate mechanic operations in abrasive, trim or polished applications. They can also take advantage of more powerful computer technologies and big data analytics. For example, they can use spectral analysis to check the quality of the weld while welding, thus greatly reducing the inspection work required after manufacture.
5. Robots take on new roles Today, these factors are helping to increase their popularity in the areas of application that robots are already good at, namely, repetitive mass production activities. As the cost and complexity of robotic automation tasks decrease, companies that are already using robots are likely to use them more. However, in the next five to ten years, it is expected that the types of tasks that robots can perform at the technical and economic levels will undergo fundamental changes. The following are some of the cases.
1. Low-volume production The inherent flexibility of programming fast and easy equipment will greatly reduce the number of specific tasks that robots need to repeat for cost-effectiveness. This will lower the production threshold and make the robot an economically viable option for sub-tasks with annual production of tens or hundreds instead of thousands or hundreds of thousands. It will also make robots a viable option for companies with small batch sizes and highly differentiated product portfolios. For example, today's flexible track products for aerospace can "crawl" on the fuselage using a vision system that directs their operation. The cost savings of this low-volume production automation will benefit a variety of different types of organizations: small businesses will be able to use robotics for the first time, and large companies can increase the diversity of their product portfolio. Emerging technologies may also further simplify the robot programming process. For example, it is quite common to guide the teaching of robots through a series of movements, but the rapid development of speech recognition technology means that it will be possible to give them voice guidance soon.
2. Highly variable tasks Advances in artificial intelligence and sensor technology will enable robots to cope with greater variability between tasks. This ability to adjust actions in response to changes in the environment will give automation opportunities in some areas, such as the handling of highly variable agricultural products. In Japan, experiments have shown that with stereoscopic imaging systems to identify the location of fruit and assess its maturity, robots can cut the time required to harvest strawberries by up to 40%. These capabilities will also drive quality improvements across industry sectors. The robot will be able to compensate for potential quality issues during production. Related cases include: adjusting the strength used to assemble them based on the difference in size between the two components, or selecting and combining components of different sizes to achieve a suitable finished size. The data generated by robots and the advanced analytical techniques that make better use of them will also help to understand the underlying factors that determine product quality. For example, if a higher than normal level of torque requirement during assembly is found to be associated with an immature product failure, then the manufacturing process can be adjusted during production to detect and fix such problems.
3. Complicated tasks Today's general-purpose robots are accurate to 0.1 mm in controlling their movement, and the robot's current configuration has a repeatability of 0.02 mm. Future robots may provide greater precision. This ability allows them to participate in increasingly sophisticated tasks such as pinning or assembling highly complex electronic devices. Robots are also becoming more collaborative, with existing controllers capable of driving dozens of axes simultaneously, allowing multiple robots to perform the same task together.
Finally, advanced sensor technology and the computational power required to analyze the data from those sensors will allow the robot to perform tasks that previously required highly skilled mechanics, such as cutting gems. These techniques may even allow for the development of activities that are currently completely unfoldable: for example, when they are used to compensate for deviations in the underlying material, or to "draw" electronic circuitry on the surface of the structure, the thickness or composition of the coating is adjusted in real time.
4. Working with humans Enterprises will also have much more room to decide which tasks to automate with robots and decide which tasks are manually performed manually. Advanced safety systems mean that robots can take on new positions next to human colleagues. If the sensor indicates a risk of collision with the operator, the robot will automatically slow down or change the path to avoid collision. This technique allows the robot to be used for individual tasks on the original manual assembly line. The removal of safety bars and linkages means lower operating costs – a big plus for small companies. Being able to work with robots and labor to redistribute tasks between them also helps to increase productivity because it allows companies to rebalance production lines in response to fluctuations in demand.
Robots can operate safely around humans and will also lay the groundwork for applications outside the factory floor where the environment is strictly controlled. Online retailers and logistics companies have adopted various forms of robotic automation technology in their warehouses. However, imagine that if the in-vehicle robot can pre-classify the package in the logistics distribution vehicle, it will bring much efficiency to the package delivery staff.
5. Flexible production systems Automation systems are becoming more flexible and smarter, automatically adjusting their behavior to maximize productivity or minimizing cost per unit. Expert systems for beverage filling and packaging lines automatically adjust the speed of the entire production line to suit any activity that is a critical constraint in a particular production batch. In automated production, the expert system automatically adjusts the line speed to a small degree, which in turn increases the overall balance of individual processing lines and maximizes the efficiency of the entire manufacturing system.
Most of the robots currently in use are still able to operate in high-speed mass production applications, while state-of-the-art systems can be adjusted in the working state, seamlessly switching between different production types without stopping to change programs or Reconfigure the job tool. Many existing emerging production technologies, from CNC cutting to 3D printing, can adjust the structure of components without changing tools, so products of different batch sizes can be produced. For example, industrial component manufacturers use real-time communication capabilities from radio frequency identification (RFID) tags to adjust the shape of components to meet the needs of different models.
Replacing fixed conveyor systems with automated guided vehicle systems (AGVs) allows the factory to seamlessly reconfigure the flow of products and components between different workstations, allowing manufacturing processes with completely different processing steps to be fully automated carry out. This flexibility brings a number of benefits: shortening the preparation phase of production, bringing the connection between supply and demand closer, accelerating the introduction of new products, and simplifying the manufacture of highly customized products.
Making the right automation decisions As such technology potential becomes within reach, how do companies make the best automation strategy decisions? It's easy for companies to forget about automation itself, but it almost always results in unsatisfactory projects, such as too high a cost, too long implementation time, and the inability to achieve business goals. A successful automation strategy requires good decisions at multiple levels. Companies must choose which activities to automate, and what level of automation technology to use (from simple programmable logic controllers to high-end robots guided by sensors and intelligent adaptive algorithms, which technologies are used. At each of these levels, Companies should ensure that their plans meet the following criteria.
The automation strategy must be in line with business and operational strategies. As mentioned above, automation can achieve four main purposes: to improve worker safety, reduce costs, improve quality, and enhance flexibility. When used well, automation technology can improve in all of these areas, but the specific results may vary depending on the technology and strategy. For any business organization, the trade-off for the automation strategy will depend on its overall operational strategy and its business objectives. Implementing an automation project must begin with a clear understanding of the problem. Equally important, this includes reasons why automation is the right solution. Every project should be able to identify how and where automation can lead to improvements and how these improvements relate to the overall strategy of the business. Automation must show a clear return on investment. Enterprises, especially large ones, should not over-regulate their automation investments, over-complicate, and overspend. Choosing the right level of automation complexity to meet the needs of today's and foreseeable future requires a deep understanding of the company's processes and manufacturing systems.
Platforming and integration Companies are facing increasing pressure to maximize return on capital investment and reduce the time it takes for new products to go from design to full-scale production. Creating an automation system that is only suitable for a single product line runs counter to those two goals, requiring repeated, lengthy, and expensive cycles in equipment design, procurement, and commissioning. A better approach is to use a combination of production systems, production lines and plants that can be easily modified and adapted.
Just as platforming and modularization simplifies the process of managing complex product portfolios and reduces associated costs, platform strategies will become increasingly important for manufacturers seeking to maximize flexibility and economies of scale in their automation strategies. Process platforms, such as robotic arms equipped with welding guns, power supplies and electronic controls, can be standardized, can be applied and reused in a variety of applications, simplifying the process of programming, maintenance and product support.
Automation systems will also require other systems that are highly integrated into the organization. The integration between the machines that started on the factory floor, thanks to modern industrial networking technology, has become easier. But it should also extend to other aspects of the business. Direct integration with computer-aided design, computer-integrated engineering, and enterprise resource planning systems will accelerate the design and deployment of new manufacturing configurations, enabling flexible systems to be close to real-time response needs or changes in material availability. Data on process variables and manufacturing performance will be documented for quality assurance purposes and to help improve the design and bring better future products.
Integration efforts will also extend beyond the factory. Companies will not only need to maintain close cooperation and seamless information exchange with customers and suppliers; they will also need to establish this relationship with the manufacturers of process equipment, as the latter will tend to master many of the operations needed to improve the operation of the automation system. Proprietary knowledge and intellectual property. Thanks to the availability of open architectures and networked protocols, the technology required for such integration is becoming increasingly available, but companies also need to make changes in culture, management processes, and mindsets to balance costs, benefits, and risk.
Cheaper, smarter, and more adaptable automation systems have changed manufacturing in a variety of ways. The technology will become easier to implement, but business decisions will not be as easy to implement. In order to capture the value of the opportunities presented by these new systems, companies will need to adopt a comprehensive systemic strategy that will need to adapt their automation strategies to meet current and future business needs.

Oven Glove

Silicone Oven Mitts,Best Oven Mitts,Silicone Oven Gloves,Funny Oven Mitts

YANGJIANG VOSSEN INDUSTRY AND TRADE CO.,LTD , https://www.cnvossen.com