Page 23 - Packaging News Sep-Oct 2020

September-October 2020 | www.packagingnews.com.au | COBOTS
23
Six myths about cobots
Since bursting onto the scene more than a decade ago, cobots (or collaborative robots) have made automation affordable and accessible to organisations big and small. PKN speaks to Darrell Adams, head of SE Asia Oceania for Universal Robots, who dispels six myths about cobots.
4COBOTS ARE GETTING PEOPLE FIRED Adams said this is not the case. Cobots were designed to focus on monotonous, repetitive, or injury- prone tasks to free up time for work- ers to add value to the business in processes that require more thought.
“Often, the arrival of cobots signifi- cantly boosts manufacturers’ global competitiveness, enabling them to outbid competitors in low-wage countries, reshore work, and hire more people locally,” Adams said.
5COBOTS ARE SLOW
With extra safety devices installed, a cobot can work faster than
a human and then either stop or reduce speed once a person enters the work envelope.
“Even in applications that handle tasks at the same speed as an employee would, cobots do so consis- tently without stopping or slowing down over time, which typically increases productivity and quality,” Adams said.
AS cobots are a relatively new form of automation, there are still a few mis- conceptions surrounding cobots.
1COBOTS ARE NOT
INDUSTRIAL ROBOTS
“Cobots were initially designed to be
lightweight and easy to use, but today’s cobots are powerful industrial tools that can be integrated with existing machinery and other robots through PLCs and sophisticated programming software,” Darrell Adams said.
2COBOTS ARE THE ONLY COLLABORATIVE ROBOTS
Adams said almost any robot can claim to be collaborative with the appropriate safety mechanisms in place (per the ISO/ TS 15066 standard).
“The difference is that cobots are in fact the only robots that were designed specifically to work alongside humans,” he said.
“They are defined by their ability to offer versatility, user-friendliness, small footprint, and affordability.”
3COBOTS ARE ALWAYS SAFE TO USE NEXT TO HUMAN WORKERS “Every automated application where
humans are present requires a risk assessment – and that includes cobots,” Adams said.
“Based on the assessment, a collab- orative application may still require safety mechanisms such as light cur- tains, safety mats, or reduced robot speed. However, cobots are designed to be used within a collaborative workspace and have built-in safety mechanisms to support this use, and a vast majority of our cobots are used without safety cages.”
A cobot at work in its natural habitat.
6
COBOTS ARE NOT IDEAL FOR
PRECISION HANDLING
“This is not true,” Adams said. “Cobots are suitable for very precise finishing, assembly, and electronics tasks. Universal Robots’ e-Series cobots now feature a repeatability of 30 micron (0.03mm) in the UR3e and UR5e models and 50 micron (0.05mm)
in the UR10e and UR16e.”
With built-in, tool-centric force/
torque sensor the e-Series can handle applications where force-feedback is paramount to obtain uniform results and repeatability, according to Uni- versal Robots.
Adams said the journey to cobotic automation is an exciting one.
“While there was some resistance in the past, many organisations are now reaping the rewards and cobots are being welcomed by workers,” he said.
Some organisations have gone as far as to name their cobots, and feedback from workers have been that it is as easy to work as a mobile phone. ■
The difference is that cobots are in fact the only robots that were designed specifically to work alongside humans.”
– Darrell Adams