Robotics Automation and Aerospace Manufacturing

All U.S. Stealth air­craft receive a coat of spe­cial­ized paint so they remain invis­i­ble to ene­my radar. The paint must be applied impec­ca­bly with­out a bub­ble or drip. That’s why this job is han­dled by the best of the best — a Motoman P8 indus­tri­al robot.

Aero­space man­u­fac­tur­ing is unique and spe­cial­ized. The parts are com­plex and often gigan­tic. While it may come as a sur­prise, this indus­try has begun to rely more and more on the stan­dard 6‑axis indus­tri­al robot, not spe­cial­ized machin­ery. Here’s are some of the top rea­sons why…

Robot­ics Automa­tion is Eco­nom­i­cal:

Aero­space man­u­fac­tur­ers are attract­ed to robots’ cost-effec­tive­ness. The typ­i­cal 6‑axis artic­u­lat­ed robot is far more afford­able than a cus­tom-built machine and per­forms just as effec­tive­ly. Com­pa­nies that opt for a recon­di­tioned robot can expect to save even more — up to 50%-60% less than the cost of a new robot. 

Usabil­i­ty and Robot­ics Automation:

Com­pared to set­ting up cus­tomized machines, robot­ics automa­tion is easy to deploy. Six-axis robots are quick to set up, pro­gram, and put into production. 

Flex­i­ble Automa­tion with 6‑Axis Robots:

Robots are well-suit­ed for aero­space man­u­fac­tur­ing because they offer appli­ca­tion and work enve­lope flexibility. 

Quick Fix: Change the tool­ing, change the pro­gram­ming, and your 6‑axis robot is ready for a new appli­ca­tion. This flex­i­bil­i­ty (switch­ing from arc weld­ing to mate­r­i­al han­dling, to debur­ring, for instance) makes robot­ics automa­tion very attrac­tive to aero­space manufacturers. 

Extra Axes: The tra­di­tion­al 6‑axis robot can also be aug­ment­ed by adding addi­tion­al, exter­nal axes so it can ​“reach” the entire length of larg­er parts. 

Lim­it­ed Quan­ti­ties: Aero­space part pro­duc­tion is dif­fer­ent than auto­mo­tive part pro­duc­tion. Not only are parts more com­pli­cat­ed, requir­ing more pre­ci­sion and slowed man­u­fac­tur­ing, but aero­space parts are cre­at­ed in small­er batch­es. Indus­tri­al robots are well-suit­ed because of their versatility. 

Robot­ics Automa­tion and the Aero­space Worker:

Some­times build­ing an aero­space craft gets a bit cramped. Indus­tri­al robots make cramped and painstak­ing tasks like clos­ing up wing spaces much more ergonom­ic and quick.

With­out the assis­tance of indus­tri­al robots, the aero­space work­er, like the auto­mo­tive work­er, must endure repet­i­tive weld­ing, debur­ring, and oth­er tasks. Now aero­space man­u­fac­tur­ers are avoid such repet­i­tive move­ment injury and strain by let­ting robot­ics automa­tion han­dle the dull work.

Inter­est­ed in an indus­tri­al robot for your aero­space appli­ca­tion? Con­tact Robots​.com online or at 877−762−6881 for pric­ing and information.