DESCRIPTION
Your Profile
If you filled in all the questions in the analysis step, you now have your personal profile and can start to investigate the different options for your automation project. You do not have to read all information on this web page, just investigate your highest matches and why they match with your process. On this page you can find some basic info about the different types of robots and their strengths and weaknesses.
Guided cobot
The guided cobot is the most recent type of cobot. It has only been on the market for a few years and was developed to be in constant collaboration with people. It takes a lot of space because of its quite big operating range. It is rather difficult to teach the robot a new task because of the required calibration of the joints. The robot scores mediocre on dexterity and easiness to integrate on the factory floor and is only usable for certain types of tasks. The throughput it supplies is very limited because of the constant collaboration with people and the very limited speed associated with the high weights it can lift. The maintenance intensity is average. Operators can quite easily intervene but will only gradually accept this cobot on the work space.
Autonomous cobot
This type of cobot is the type of robot most people think about when they hear the word "cobot". The workstation only takes in a very limited amount of space because no cage is needed, and it is rather easy to teach the cobot a new task when the product is similar to an already programmed task. Do not expect that a completely new product will be easy to teach to the robot though. The cobot scores medium on dexterity and easiness to integrate on the factory floor. Because of the lower speeds its throughput is low, and it takes at least 4 seconds for the robot to perform the easiest handling tasks. The maintenance intensity is average. Operators can intervene quite easily, but acceptance of the robot will only be gradual, since they experience that the robot is performing a task autonomously where in the past people were needed to perform this task.
Traditional robot
I used the name traditional robot because this is the robot most people think of when the word "robot" is used. It is the classic 6-axis robot you know from automated productions like car assembly parks or automated packing units. They exist in different sizes, but the basic principles of their functioning and programming usually come down to the same thing. Because of the safety cage in which they must be placed the space taken by the workstation is large. It is difficult to teach a new task to these robots because they have a specific programming language that requires experience to modify. The dexterity of these robots is similar to the types of cobots discussed above and rather average. They are difficult to integrate on the factory floor because they require a lot of reorganization of the current setup and take a lot of space with their safety cage. Their throughput is medium, and their maintenance intensity is low. It is difficult for operators to intervene in the process and it is difficult for people to accept these types of robots on the work floor because they work fast and fully autonomous.
Delta robot
The delta robot is better known by some people as the spider robot, due to them having 6 or 8 long feet making the construction resemble a spider. This robot type takes an average amount of space and is difficult to teach a new task or product. It is only able to perform very simple pick and place tasks and is not dexterous. It is difficult to integrate on the factory floor because of the high speed of the robot and the vision systems that are often necessary to tell the robot where to pick up the objects. The throughput that can be achieved with these robots is high and its maintenance intensity low. It is difficult for operators to intervene in a process and it is difficult for people to accept these types of robots on the work floor because they work fast and fully autonomous.
Scara robot
The scara robot is usually a smaller size robot than most. It only takes a medium amount of space and is rather difficult to program. The dexterity of the robot is low since it is only able to perform easy pick and place or assembly movements. It is difficult to integrate this robot on the factory floor. The throughput that can be achieved is average and the maintenance intensity is low. It is difficult for operators to intervene in a process and it is difficult for people to accept these types of robots on the work floor because they work fast and fully autonomous.
XY robot
The xy robot varies in size and is called this way because its movements are limited to X and Y planes using gliding bearing systems. The space taken by the workstation varies a lot depending on the size of the XY robot and the robot is rather difficult to program. The dexterity is medium since it is possible to do some more complex assembly movements with the XY robot. It is difficult to integrate this robot on the factory floor. The throughput that can be achieved is average and the maintenance intensity is low. It is difficult for operators to intervene in a process and it is difficult for people to accept these types of robots on the work floor because they work fast and fully autonomous.
Operator
The operator is included in the tool as a type of robot to show you the strengths and weaknesses of humans in comparison to these robots. Your process probably had a high match with an operator and this mainly has two reasons. Firstly you know the process right now as it is performed by humans and therefore filled in this questionnaire a bit biased. Secondly operators are just very skilled workers. They take little space, are easy to teach a new task and to integrate on your factory floor. Although their throughput is not so high as these of some robots and their maintenance intensity is high in comparison to robots, they are still a valuable alternative when considering automation of a certain process.
