CONTROL & AUTOMATION
PRODUCTIVITY & EFFICIENCY
ONROBOT
SMART
MANUFACTURING
IS BEING
DRIVEN BY
COLLABORATIVE
ROBOTS
By Thomas Knudsen, General Manager
Northern Europe, OnRobot
Engineers and manufacturers are always
in need of smart solutions, which not
only drive productivity but efficiency too.
Automation is increasingly being adopted
to enable this, with robotics in particular
developing extensively over the last few
years.
End-of-arm tooling devices (or EOAT)
have been at the forefront of this, and
have driven some exciting trends in the
market, making life easier for producers
and encouraging smart manufacturing
environments. New-age intelligent robot
accessories offer the innovation, expertise
and precision that smart manufacturing
requires. These technologies, however,
are also changing the economics of
manufacturing, e-commerce and
agriculture, and below are the areas that
we’re seeing the biggest changes:
INDUSTRY 4.0 INTEGRATION
EOAT have a significant influence on
how successful a robot is in terms of
performance and flexibility. In fact,
automation process efficiency largely
depends on the grippers and other
intelligent tools that interface with the
robot.
The potential of intelligent robot accessories
is enormous as modern grippers and power
sensors are becoming so sophisticated
that they maximise efficiency, enabling
manufacturers to programme complex
sequences. However, with collaborative
applications, manufacturers want more than
just efficient automation from machines
– they also want to access the robots
remotely and diagnose problems online.
Intelligent EOAT with smart hardware and
software helps collect and analyse data to
deliver feedback and increase capabilities.
Considering the new emphasis on big
92
PECM Issue 38
data and the potential of IoT hardware,
collaborative robots which feed into this
is incredibly valuable for a manufacturer’s
productivity analysis.
INCREASING SOPHISTICATION
IS ADDING VALUE IN
SURPRISING VERTICALS
A robot’s efficacy relies on the tools and
accessories it’s fitted with. EOATs have seen
such demand because of the value of its
two-way information sharing between the
robot itself and the tools on the end of the
arm. When we think of grippers, torque
grippers often come to mind, to detect an
object’s presence for greater accuracy.
However, we are seeing an increase in
demand for grippers which mimic human
fingertips. These grippers are used in
agriculture to pick and place herbs and
other delicate items without damage. With
the current pressures on food production,
we fully expect this trend to continue, as
seasonal fluctuations mean that harvesting
planning becomes increasingly difficult.
PICK AND PLACE IS UPPING
ITS GAME
Pick and place was a prime example of
automation and has been present in
manufacturing for years. However, with
some items being picked and placed
now more delicate than previously (think
technology, tablets etc), the grippers
themselves need to adapt. We are seeing a
trend that these sorts of arms will learn to
pick up items without compressed air or
external power, ensuring no marks on the
item and a more efficient process.
Robotics accessories are becoming
increasingly smart and will be crucial
to the future of automation. As
manufacturers come to rely increasingly
on robotics to boost productivity and
enable humans to add value elsewhere,
we expect that EOAT will boom over the
coming years, enabling a transformation in
how factories operate.
About OnRobot
Established in 2015, the company
merged with Perception Robotics
and OptoForce in 2018, followed
by a recent acquisition of Purple
Robotics. Now, the OnRobot product
range features a wide assortment of
robot equipment, including: electric
grippers, force/torque sensors, gecko
grippers, and tool changers. This
new combination of offerings from
OnRobot makes it quicker and simpler
to automate tasks such as packaging,
quality control, materials handling,
machine operation, assembly, and
welding. The headquarters is located
in Odense, Denmark and OnRobot
also has offices in Hungary, Germany,
Poland, Spain, USA, China and
Singapore. The company plans to
expand further through acquisitions in
the coming years.
For more information,
visit www.onrobot.com.