WHAT CAN MACHINE TENDING ROBOTS DO?
Because machine tending activities may be monotonous, hazardous, and repetitious for people, they are excellent candidates for automation. What can a machine tending robot perform in an industrial context, though, and what exactly is it? We’ll cover the fundamentals in this blog.
Robotic machine tending: what is it?
The act of loading components or raw materials into a machine, emptying the completed product after the cycle is complete, and then starting the process again is known as machine tending. The repetitive nature of machine tending activities for human workers can cause harm from twisting, lifting, and bending as well as boredom. For robots, on the other hand, who never weary or become bored, it is the perfect use.
Actually, because of their increased speed and precision over human labor, robots are able to do tasks faster, without the need for breaks or rest periods, and with less errors overall. The precision and efficiency of automated machine tending solutions contribute to improved product quality and consistency, decreased mistakes, material waste, and rework, as well as increased throughput and fewer bottlenecks. A facility’s safety record will also improve if repetitive motion injuries at work are eliminated. Those that use machine tending robots can gain monetarily greatly from each of these characteristics.
What precisely is robotic machine tending, though? Robotic machine tending is a sophisticated automation technique intended to load and unload parts more quickly and/or carry out several tasks in one application. In contrast to robotic material handling applications, robotic machine tending systems interact with process machinery and carry out many tasks within a single application.
Machine tending robots can manage complicated machine tending activities with high levels of efficiency and accuracy because they can smoothly transition from one stage to the next and offer improved precision, more flexibility, and adaptive programming.
Which Jobs Can Robots Assist With Machine Tending?
These days, complex material manipulation and transportation can be handled by machine tending robots that use AMR (Autonomous Mobile Robot) technology. These robots can operate a production line without human supervision, pick up products from a supply location, transport them to the appropriate machine, position and orient them in accordance with preprogrammed specifications, operate the machine, and then remove the finished product, place it on the outfeed, and repeat the process until it runs out of materials or is instructed to stop.
Robots that tend machines are most frequently used in machine shops, where they are used to tend CNC machines, lathes, mills, and presses. However, new developments in machine tending automation are making them useful in a wide range of other applications, such as:
- Grinding
- Injection or compression molding
- Welding
- Etching
- Raw or scrap material handling
- Stamping, punching, trimming and forging,
- Hazardous material or product handling
- Quality control and inspection
- Powdered metal tending
- Furnace tending
- Upstream and downstream assembly tasks
Machine tending robots may perform a variety of tasks in these kinds of applications, such as:
Picking
One might choose from a tray, rack, or container of raw materials.
Door opening
Open doors on machines so that materials or parts can be inserted or removed by machine tending robots.
Placing and Removing Items
When a process is finished, raw materials can be precisely loaded into conveyors or into equipment and taken out.
Tool Changing
In addition to carrying out its other tasks, a machine tending robot equipped with the appropriate end-of-arm tooling and programming may change out tools.
Cleaning
The robotic machine tender can put a completed product into an automated drier or cleaner after removing it from the assembly line to get rid of lubricants and residues from the production process.
Post-Processing Tasks
After processing, machine tending robots can be trained to carry out operations like deburring and polishing completed items.
Apart from their general responsibilities, machine tending robots equipped with intelligence, vision systems, and flexible programming can also carry out specific tasks like identifying and retrieving various parts, loading and unloading parts from various machines, basic assembly, attaching and disconnecting hoses, cables, and similar items, dispensing adhesive, and cleaning and lubricating machines.
In what situations is the use of machine tending robots appropriate?
For the applications covered above, automated machine tending offers several benefits such as enhanced safety, greater quality, increased productivity, less waste and rework expenses, and efficiency. However, there are some situations—such as manpower shortages, the incapacity to maximize a machine’s productivity, and the desire to operate “lights out”—that practically need the installation of a machine tending robot.
It’s no secret that the labor market is more competitive than ever, and businesses are having a hard time finding qualified workers who are ready to continue in monotonous, repetitive, and often hazardous machine tending jobs. This problem can be resolved with an automated machine tending solution, which might ultimately be less expensive than providing salaries and benefits.
Robotic machine tending might be the solution if you’re having trouble obtaining the required output out of your machines. Its efficiency and speed will remove any bottlenecks caused by humans. Furthermore, robots produce significantly quicker work than people since they move faster than humans do and do so without pauses, shift changes, or downtime.
Last but not least, machine tending robots enable enterprises to operate production lines without human supervision at night or for certain periods of time. Robots can be configured to load and unload components continuously during the night without human supervision, contributing to the “lights out” objective of many modern production facilities—that is, if they have adequate material and the application can be operated without human intervention.
If you are interested in machine tending robots and automation or want to know more about how to improve production efficiency, please contact Robotnext today for advice and cost support. Details via hotline: 0909 914 837.
