ROBOTICS IFR release shows surge in global industrial robot sales “I would like to see more robots here,” says Mikael Andersson, who is not afraid of losing his job. Rather, his daily tasks are more varied and interesting following the introduction of automation technology at FT-Produktion. up training via free e-learning courses. Mikael also received training in the use of the EasyRobotics ProFeeder and the dual gripper from OnRobot, enabling him to easily and flexibly install, program, operate and reconfigure the overall solution. - It was actually easier to use robots than I had expected. If you’re standing there all day, feeding the same machine with parts, you can feel it in every joint of your body at the end of the day. Now my job is less monotonous and much more interesting. It’s fun to watch a robot at work! I would like to see more of them here. This cobot solution is so easy to reconfigure that even small production runs are feasible in terms of costs, says Andersson. The Swedish machine shop manufactures 650 different aluminium profiles and fills 7,000 orders annually, with production runs ranging from five to 150,000 units. Given the wide range of tasks and volumes, flexible automation is absolutely essential. A single robot solution must be capable of handling many different parts with minimal downtime when reconfiguring from one production run to the next. The new generation of collaborative robot arms also requires high performance accessories. For example, the functionality and user-friendliness of grippers ultimately determines the scope and variety of tasks and parts that can be automated, as well as the ROI time for automation investments. - It only takes 10 seconds to change to a different part on the robot’s display, says Andersson, who sees the robot as a useful tool in a time of high demand and limited labour supply. - The robots are not taking any jobs. We can fill more orders and deliver more detailed parts with higher quality when we use the robots. They have been easy to install and adjust, so we’ve been able to do it all ourselves, with just a little help over the phone from Edströms. FT-Produktion’s first cobot cell is based on the plug & produce principle, which makes flexible automation easy and profitable for small and mediumsized manufacturers. The cobot cell includes the following components from the global leaders in modern collaborative robot technology: A UR5 robot arm from Universal Robots, a ProFeeder from EasyRobotics, and a dual gripper solution with two RG2 grippers from OnRobot. This fully-integrated robot solution offers intuitive operation and programming, with 3D visualisations on the robot arms touchscreen. The ProFeeder and RG2 are certified by Universal Robots and offered through the Universal THE WORLD ROBOTICS REPORT <strong>2018</strong>, published by the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) shows that investments in industrial robots keep increasing. In fact, the global industrial robot sales doubled from 2013 to 2017 and the outlook for the next three years (<strong>2018</strong>-2021) estimates that the global sales will increase 14 percent per year on average. - As with previous reports from IFR, the findings this year is in line with our own experiences at Universal Robots. We also see a significant interest and desire to automate processes and more and more companies – no matter the size – are realizing the benefits of robots in their manufacturing setups, says Esben Østergaard, Cofounder and CTO at Universal Robots. In the <strong>2018</strong> report the IFR highlights many cutting-edge technologies such as the concept of man-machine collaboration and easy programming which will help improve the productivity of manufacturing and expand the area of robot applications. - Robotic automation improves consistency of quality and consistency of flow. Collaborative robots – in its essence man-machine collaboration – are especially compelling as they work together with human workers instead of replacing them. We definitely see an accelerating demand for consumer goods that display an element of “the human touch” along with consistently high quality, says Østergaard. The report sees a growing demand for robotic automation specifically within the auto industry, electronics, and the metal industry. Five major markets; China, Japan, South Korea, the United States and Germany represented 73 percent of the total sales volume in 2017. The results of this year’s IFR report were announced in October at a press conference at the World Robot Summit in Tokyo. Nina Garlo-Melkas 50 maintworld 4/<strong>2018</strong>
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