Assemble the Software for the Robotic Assembly Line
Jun 16, 2013
The major industrial robotic companies offer a wide range of assembly robots and software to enhance your production line. After integrating an assembly robot, you will notice faster and more precise results to your manufacturing process.
Imagine doing the same task every second of every day. Bored just thinking about it? Enter robotic assembly!
Automated assembly produces products faster and more precisely than human assembly, ultimately increasing output and decreasing costs. Not to mention, robots don’t get fatigued or need vacations!
In order to get the job done perfectly, assembly robot software has been designed to promote high-speed precision, as well as ensuring special care in the handling of parts of different sizes during the assembly process. The leading robot companies have recognized the need for tactile or touch sense software that adapts to feedback from a force sensor. This helps the robot operate as if it were human, and ultimately provide better results for everyone.
In addition, vision has been included in softwares for precise placement and guidance when assembling parts. Robots can’t ordinarily see and react as humans do, but the latest vision software gets it pretty close! They can locate parts to be picked up, determine where to place a part, and inspect parts that have already been assembled.
Take a look at what assembly software options the robotic companies have in store for you.
Fanuc
Fanuc’s iRVision software is is an all-inclusive robotic vision product integrated into the main computer of every robot manufactured. This eliminates the need for other vendors, smart cameras, or extra computers on the floor. iRVision is extremely user friendly; with the instruction set integrated it has fast set-up options and simple application building. Moreover, the configurations are scalable and it has high-speed vision communication and processing.
iR Vision gives you a few options based on your needs. You can choose a 2D guidance product that will accurately move the robot to the location of your part. This eliminates the need for expensive positioning fixtures. There is also 3D vision guidance available that projects lasers that allow the 3DL Sensor to quickly find all 6 dimensions (X, Y, Z, W, P, R). Visual Line tracking gives the ability to pick products from a moving conveyor. Another route is Visual Guided (de)palletizing that enables 2D cameras to leverage the size of parts and determine the Z depth. Finally, the Digital Video Monitor enables the creation of an image or video archive of production by triggering a timer to record at certain times. DVM produces traceability requirements, trouble shoot errors, or isolate product variations.
Another software option by Fanuc is the Handling Tool that can be integrated with a Fanuc robot and controller. It provides an effective process solution for assembly applications as it has built-in functions, menu-driven programming tools, and point-and-shoot position teaching features that allows inexperienced users to create programs and run production easily.
Motoman
Motoman’s MotoSight is an integrated vision solution that is easy-to-integrate, comprehensive, powerful, and simplifies the use of 3D vision for assembly. It offers the ability to train new parts (simple or complex) in seconds and the capability of recognizing a large number of objects, color camera technology provides additional object detail
The interface is easy-to-use; it has a simple point-and-click teaching guide and there is no camera calibration or additional programming required due to advanced algorithm. This camera will take several pictures and then uses auto-refinement to provide incredible accuracy in order to optimally locate the part and its position within the six degrees of freedom. This feature also allows it to recognize and learn a large number of objects regardless of their position within the camera field of view.
KUKA
KUKA is opening up a new range of potential automation applications for a wide variety of manufacturing processes making operation quick and easy for a robot as a machine tool.
The CAMrob system combined with the Milling application modules offers the world it first complete system for automated Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machining. The software automatically generates a robot program based on CNC data and the Milling application modules are used to integrate milling tools and additional components into a complete robotic system as standard products.
CAMrob helps to maximize work space, high quality product, and increases functionality, flexibility, and versatility as the software allows the robot to be adapted at a moments notice to changing production processes. This gives KUKA robots a breadth of the range of applications in which the custom-configurable system offers outstanding performance to mill, grind, glue, cut, engrave, saw, debur, finish castings, and handle and can, at any time.
When this software is compared with machine-assisted or manual machining, KUKA CAMROB achieves significantly higher process speeds, precision, and quality.
ABB
ABB’s assembly software is called RobotWare Assembly Force Control. It is an advanced software for force control which includes a specific set of rapid instructions. This software facilitates the use of robots for tasks that need “touch sensing” such as fixturing, product testing, and assembly.
The RW Assembly FC uses the robot movements to adapt to the feedback from a force sensor. This enables the robot to search for the correct location and assemble parts using intelligent force/torque motion without any risk of jamming or part damage.
This software equips a robot with tactile sense that gives the robot human-worker handling capabilities. For instance, a robot with RW Assembly FC can search along a predefined pattern and attempt to push until parts slip into position with only small contact forces used. This will save installation and programming costs and reduce average process cycle time, due to easier programming and less assembly problems in production.
Assembly FC can also be used for product testing, without any overload, where the objective is to apply forces and torque in order to simulate normal use, such as seats, steering wheels, switches, levers, etc.
This software makes it possible to automate assembly tasks that may have previously been too demanding. It is now possible to assemble parts with arbitrary positions or tolerances in the size of hundreds of millimeters. Ultimately, this allows for a higher quality in production and less product damages.
Contact Us!
Interested in enhancing your assembly with any of these software options? Robots.com provides multiple types of robotic assembly software with their robots. Contact us?? today for determining which one is right for your company at 877−762−6881.
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