According to a human-robot collaboration statement published by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, working with cobots can improve employee productivity and reduce waiting time by 85 percent.
The car profession is one of the earliest occupations to use traditional industrial robots and the earliest to widely use collaborative robots. Automation is now permeated almost every aspect of car manufacturing, from parts and sub-units from Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers to the final product that rolls off the assembly line at OEM plants.
A 2019 statement by the International Federation of Robotics shows that cobots are growing faster than traditional industrial robots.
So, what pain points in car manufacturing are driving the growth of the demand for collaborative robots?
Now, with their flexibility, small footprint, fast payback and stable performance, Universal Robots' (UR) cobots are increasingly being used in the field of car manufacturing.
Directly hit the pain points of the car manufacturing industry
Jacob Bom Madsen, Software Product Manager at Universal Robots, points out that parts in the car manufacturing industry have been highly automated for decades, but some missions, especially in assembly, are still highly reliant on manual labor, such as screw tightening. The flexibility and small footprint of UR cobots can take on these missions, bringing real benefits to car manufacturers.
Jacob Bom Madsen explains: "One of the advantages of cobots is flexibility. After conducting a hazard assessment, they are able to deploy in any direction, safely work with humans, and excel in a variety of missions. The small footprint of cobots means they can be easily installed on existing production lines, pedestals or mobile platforms. ”
For example, the car giant Opel has deployed UR10 cobots at its manufacturing plant in Eisenach, Germany, freeing workers from tedious and repetitive tasks, such as screwing screws into the engine's air compressor.
Frank Croghan, Global Product Manager at Universal Robots, explains: "Carrying out this mission took eight hours per shift, which could lead to strain. Cobots improve the health and safety conditions of employees, and together they ensure consistent screw tightening operations. ”
Together, PSA Group, Europe's second-largest car manufacturing trademark, has deployed UR10 cobots at its large plant in Sochaux, France, to perform screw tightening applications on the body-in-white device line. The UR10 cobot is deployed to improve geometry, provide operators with more ergonomic working conditions, and reduce production costs.
Sebastian Lars Lange, Global Key Customer Manager at Universal Robots, explains: "Traceability is key in highly regulated professions such as the car industry. Cobots can also assist manufacturers in manipulating and tracing critical manufacturing processes, such as the precise torque applied when screws are attached to a vehicle body. The appeal of UR cobots is not limited to the screw drive mission. Our cobots are also used in the automotive sector for quality inspection, small parts assembly, dispensing and finishing applications. Our approach is to enable the car industry to deploy UR's cobots at every step of the manufacturing process, from Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers to OEMs. ”
New cobot solutions
Jacob Bom Madsen explains: "In order to achieve a high level of flexibility, UR actively listens to the opinions of the end user and improves the product accordingly. For example, car manufacturers want to integrate the e-series cobots on their production lines and require greater flexibility. For this purpose, UR has developed a new cable kit for the e-Series platform. ”
UR's latest cable kit now comes with a base flange adapter, which is a plug on the cobot base and is designed to make cobot placement and repair more flexible.
Jacob Bom Madsen explains, "When it comes to placing a robot on the production line, there are two things that can be wrong. It may be that there is a problem with the robot, or the cable connecting to the robot is disconnected. ”
With the new base flange adapter, the user is able to leave the cables and equipment in place, remove the robot, place the new robot in the same position, and connect the cables again in the event of a problem with the robot.
Jacob Bom Madsen continued: "One of UR's North American customers likened the process to a quick tyre change at an F1 repair station, because it was really fast. ”
Due to the limited availability of space in and around most passenger car production lines, manufacturers prefer to place robotic assets in close proximity to the production line. The new cable kit for the e-series includes a new 12-meter option that provides greater flexibility in cobot placement.
Similarly, car manufacturers are looking for ways to add to the range of their cobots by installing ceilings and gantries as well as 7th-axis rail settings. That's why UR has included a new high-flex cable option in its cable kit for the e-Series to support this arrangement.
The planning of the high-flex cable can handle 5 million repeated twists at a specified radius of twists, which supports a useful 7th-axis device and significantly increases the range of the cobot.
To meet the needs of car manufacturers, UR has also developed an e-series teach pendant with integrated 3-position enablement. The unit is hardwareically and functionally integrated with the e-Series teach pendant and is plug-and-play and can be used in conjunction with any e-Series control box.
In addition, the 3-position enabler can be fully integrated into the Polyscope user interface to support all cobot movements, including manual drives.
Frank Croghan concludes: "Both the new e-series teach pendants and cable sets demonstrate UR's commitment to product quality. It starts with customer needs and ends with customer satisfaction. In order to ensure the quality, we have done sufficient preparation and very strict tests. ”
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