May 2024 Volume 6

AUTOMATION

and not just in high volume low mix applications. Robot technology had improved to the point that most shops did not worry about the robot being a source of downtime. Adding vision to the robot was no longer a risky solution. In fact, more than half of our projects involved vision guided robots. Our engineers had mastered hot part end of arm tooling design, and those risky forging projects were not so bad anymore. Let us jump again to 2024. Many high mix/low volume shops are using automation successfully. Robots are just another tool in the toolbox for a manufacturing enterprise. Automation is employed to remove operators from the DDD (Dirty, Dull, & Dangerous) jobs. Clever end of arm tooling and programming enables rapid job changes. Robots are the way your small workforce can be nimble and

capture more business with higher margins. Our colleges and tech schools are preparing the students using state of the art labs. Many of these graduates are not intimidated by robots and look forward to the challenge of integrating automation when hired. In fact, I would argue companies can attract younger workers when they see an investment in automation technology. What’s Happened in the Last Ten Years Robot technology has continued to improve. Figure 1 is a short list of features and benefits. All these improvements along with excellent reliability have provided a robust tool for the industry.

Feature

Benefit

Faster robots

shorter cycle times = higher production

Heavier payload robots

larger parts can be automated

More models

you can find a robot that is exactly right for a given family of parts

Improved Robot Controllers Programming is consistent across various models

more compact footprint on the factory floor

learn the robot language once and your team can handle the variety of applications in the shop

New drive systems more energy efficient robots Mechanical design improved better repeatability and path following accuracy Excellent MTBF

superb reliability, typically the best equipment in the shop

Vision sensors are better Force sensing is better

3D vision technology allows robust bin picking

improves material removal and machine tending applications

Maintenance requirements are simple

little downtime for maintenance

Figure 1

Other Trends The Rise of the Cobots: In the last five years we have seen the rise of “Cobots” short for “collaborative robots” which typically handle part weights up to 30 pounds. Collaborative robots allow a robot to work side by side with a human safely IF the risk assessment for the application agrees. Many owners believe they want a cobot, but when you get into the details, most owners really want a fenceless system to save floor space. Cobots have their place and the volume of cobot units that have been deployed has been a pleasant surprise to the industry. The introduction of cobots and their volume growth has gone hand in hand with the rise of the DIYers-we are seeing many manufacturers using in-house talent to integrate robots into their processes. Due to the requirements of fast cycle times and hazardous (hot) parts, cobots are not a good fit for most opportunities in a forge shop. Strategic Push: In the last few years, we have seen several companies that were “light” automation users go “all in” with automation. These

efforts are always top down and there must be a senior management sponsor to marshal the capital and human resources. The driver for such a decision is tied to a deep dive on the manufacturing work force-typically old and challenged with hiring younger employees for the plant floor. These companies went from 1-2 automation projects a year to implementing an automation project every 1-2 months. Strategic Push Case Study This privately held company has multiple manufacturing plants. They produce forgings for construction equipment, agricultural, truck, and oil & gas, and DOD markets. Faced with an aging work force and difficulty recruiting younger workers, management devel oped a strategy for growth which included automation. Key goals of this strategy were: 1. Substantially increase production. 2. Improve quality of forgings.

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