Four Major Advantages to Choosing Robotic over Fixed Automation

When it comes to automa­tion, the first major deci­sion for any busi­ness own­er is choos­ing between fixed or robot­ic sys­tems. Over­whelm­ing­ly, those who stand at this cross­road decide in favor of robots, but why?

Greater Flex­i­bil­i­ty:

How much flex­i­bil­i­ty do you want to incor­po­rate into your facil­i­ty? Con­sid­er the require­ments of your project. You either need an auto­mat­ed sys­tem that han­dles a vari­ety of process­es and parts or one that is cus­tomized for one task or one part.

Fixed automa­tion is just that — fixed. It is best if used for spe­cif­ic jobs. The com­po­nents are cus­tomized to the dimen­sions and needs of indi­vid­ual parts and projects. Plus, fixed automa­tion sys­tems typ­i­cal­ly take up more room in the facil­i­ty than their robot­ic counterparts.

In con­trast, robots offer a high lev­el of flex­i­bil­i­ty. A sin­gle robot can be pro­grammed to accom­mo­date a vari­ety of part sizes, dif­fer­ent mate­ri­als, and even dif­fer­ent appli­ca­tions. If the task changes, the robot manip­u­la­tor han­dles every­thing with a sim­ple switch in end-of-arm tool­ing. Robots offer mul­ti-axis flex­i­bil­i­ty — allow­ing for mul­ti­ple angles, long reach ranges, and close prox­im­i­ty to parts. They can also be mount­ed from dif­fer­ent loca­tions — the ceil­ing, floor, wall, a table — with­out chang­ing their performance. 

Low­er Cost: 

Unlike fixed automa­tion sys­tems, robots are com­mod­i­ty items. Not only are they mass pro­duced, but they are wide­ly avail­able direct from the man­u­fac­tur­er or through a mul­ti­tude of sup­pli­ers. This fact alone dri­ves the price of robots down. In addi­tion, the world of refur­bished robot sales is rapid­ly expand­ing — offer­ing even more afford­able alter­na­tives for entire inte­grat­ed sys­tems or parts — and the guar­an­tee of resale.

Since fixed automa­tion sys­tems are cus­tom-built, there is a slim chance of find­ing afford­able used ver­sions. It fol­lows that these sys­tems are not always good options for resale either. Their lack of flex­i­bil­i­ty alone is a deter­rent; fixed automa­tion is typ­i­cal­ly sin­gle pur­pose, which makes it dif­fi­cult to con­vert to oth­er tasks.

Sim­pli­fied Maintenance: 

Robots are designed for easy main­te­nance and repair. With robots, there is a sin­gle man­u­fac­tur­er, which makes it eas­i­er to find spare parts. Artic­u­lat­ed robots are mod­u­lar in build, so parts can be quick­ly exchanged. Main­te­nance typ­i­cal­ly occurs on-site with­out need­ing to shut down entire pro­duc­tion lines.

Fixed automa­tion sys­tems are designed from cus­tomized parts from mul­ti­ple sources. Repair can be time con­sum­ing and require spe­cial­ized parts and ser­vice. With fixed automa­tion sys­tems, a minor change can require every­thing to stop for a time.

Faster Imple­men­ta­tion:

Robots offer the advan­tage of pre-engi­neer­ing. Many robots are part of turnkey sys­tems that come pre-built and pre-con­fig­ured. Plus, robot­ic work­cells and indi­vid­ual manip­u­la­tors are installed with ease. With user-friend­ly teach pen­dants that fit in your hand, and many soft­ware sys­tems avail­able in Win­dows for­mats, robots are eas­i­ly pro­grammed.

On the oth­er hand, because fixed automa­tion is heav­i­ly cus­tomized, imple­men­ta­tion can take more time. First of all, these sys­tems take longer to design. Plus, they are often built on-site which can take up space and some­times inter­rupt exist­ing sys­tems. Last of all, the parts for fixed automa­tion sys­tems take time to assem­ble because they are not from the same source. 

Try­ing to eval­u­ate what type of automa­tion is best for your com­pa­ny? Robots​.com can answer your ques­tions. Con­tact Robots​.com rep­re­sen­ta­tives online or at 877−762−6881.