February 2021 Volume 3

AUTOMATION

Some say that is the biggest downside to turnkey is that if you have a problem or want to change something with a set program, the programmer is long gone. Now you are reliant on the programmer of the integrator, and if so, what is the lead time to have someone come back out? You have heard the saying, teaching a man to fish is far more beneficial than giving the man a fish. With a turnkey solution, I always question who will champion this system. Meaning, if we have a collision or want to change something in the production, will someone on-site be willing or capable to touch up a program? Turnkey comes with significant benefits and a few downfalls depending on your production needs. It really comes down to your application, some facilities really have just one part or production they are going after with a robot. Turnkey really doesn’t work for those with a high variety of parts versus running one part constantly. Let’s look at another angle. What if you were to look at finding a programmer in house? Finding a great robotic programmer is still not nearly as mainstream as finding a painter or a shop foreman. Robotics have been around for a while, yet finding a programmer still seems to be challenging. Comprehensive training is difficult to come by, and robot teach pendants from one brand to another can be very different.

When I trained my course with an integrator, I geared all the topics toward what job shops would use to develop a wide variety of programs and application specifics. That integrator was primarily focused on selling systems for the job shop environment, so we didn’t discuss how to engage a gripper for material handling because we were focused on building welding programs. I replaced material handling information with a full day of welding. Most shops tend to find great candidates fromwithin and send them to localized training for their system. Who are good candidates for programming robots? Often you see a younger person at the teach pendant. However, age typically isn’t the leading factor. I’ve trained programmers from 16 years old to 60 years old. A great programmer has more to do with the willingness to try, the desire to see it be successful, and a working knowledge of that process and parts. A comment I often hear is, “I’ve never been any good at video games, so I will not be good at programming a robot.” I have never been any good at video games either, in fact, I hadmore success at taking apart and fixing the controller after being a sore loser with a slight temper. The teach pendant on most robots looks like a giant Gameboy with more buttons. This is the beginning of the “willingness to try.” I get it, anything new can seem daunting to learn at first. I hear it all the time, "man this thing really has a lot of buttons." If a candidate brags about still having a flip phone because they don’t like technology, well, that might not be the right person to program a robot. You don’t need to have a high IQ, 4.0 GPA, or college degree to program a robot. Just like any other piece of equipment, it will take time and failures to master it. A factor that I have noticed with young programmers versus older programmers is the desire to be someone within their company. I think we can all agree, most of us are very competitive in our workplace. Wanting to contribute to the team while also gauging our abilities in relation to those around us. Younger employees in the shop, while they may lack a depth of knowledge, they are still very eager to gain knowledge and credibility, primarily because they want to prove their worth.

Robot teach pendants or “teach boxes” are used to control the robot step by step. Teach pendants are typically handheld devices. It’s similar to transitioning from an Apple iPhone to an Android phone, all the same pieces are there just laid out differently. Some of the best training can come from an integrator that is geared towards your industry. Meaning, robots are capable of doing so many tasks that training from an integrator in your industry is going to differ from training from the manufacturer. I experienced this going to OTC Diahen and Yaskawa Motoman programming courses. They teach a ton of information and dive into multiple topics. You can learn a lot of great programming tips and tricks from the manufacturer. The manufactures typically train to use a broad variety of features, some of which are not applicable to your application.

FIA MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY 2021 25