To start, an executive round table happened on Wednesday, September 9th, called “The State of the Global Robotics Industry” at RIA Robotics Week (Link here if you want to watch it). It was an interesting talk about the past couple of months, the current and most importantly the future of advanced manufacturing and robotics. I thought it was great to hear the opinions of some important names of the automation industry.
(If you haven’t watched the round table, feel free to read the summary I
*** Quick Update 6/27/2022 ***
This is a great quick overview from Mitsubishi
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Mitsubishi CC-Link networks have grown substantially over the past decade and it’s no wonder that there is some confusion on the various versions. This blog is to give a quick overview and hopefully clear up some of what can be rather muddy waters.
Let’s start with wha
I am going to be honest here, I didn’t think I needed a 7th axis on a robot. I thought it was a marketing gimmick or an additional linkage to make the kinematics equations harder… I was wrong.
Disclaimer: There are two different options to get 7 different axis; 1) a 7 axis robot, 2) an additional 7th axis for a 6 axis robot. Two different things. I am going to be talking about 7 axis robots in this post rather than adding an elevator or a slide to a 6 axis arm.
Save time on the d
With the introduction of cobots (collaborative robots) into the manufacturing environment, many people struggle to understand the limits of cobots and rush to assume that every new application they see is a good fit for a cobot. There are several factors to look at when deciding between a cobot, a traditional robot, or a traditional robot with integrated safety components for an application.
Amount of human interaction
Proximity of human traffic
Process positioning toleranc
For most of us in the industrial automation field, seeing a vision solution on a machine is commonplace. Some of us have specified them, some of us have programmed them, and some of us only know, “that’s the vision system over there.” With the latter being the most common, it becomes difficult for some to decide between the types of vision solutions. There are typically two types of self-contained (no separate controllers required) options: vision sensors and vision systems. There is a third
Following on the heels of my blog about Ethernet Protocols, I think it’s worth discussing System Architecture and Equipment Requirements. Over the past several years I’ve been on what I consider the wrong end of system architecture gone wrong and had to help people work their way out of a tough spot on a more than one occasion. And the reason that the architecture has gone wrong is usually the same: either lack of equipment requirements or poorly written equipment requirements.
So what do
There is always debate about when Mitsubishi’s new servo amplifiers such as MR-J4 and MR-JE CC-Link IE Field Basic should be used? To understand this you need to step back and understand what functionality they bring to the wealth of product offering Mitsubishi has in their toolbox. The biggest advantage is that there is no need for extra motion control modules. It is based on CC-link IE Field protocol which in a full functionality mode is a Gigabit based deterministic protocol over Ethernet. Ho
If you don’t have the right end of arm tooling for your application, it might not matter how good of a robot you pick. Robots and the end of arm tooling go hand in hand together.
(Please read my other blog “5 Major Factors to Consider When Choosing a Robot” to get a better idea on how to choose a robot)
Case 1: Let’s pick an application for a vacuum gripper, a bottle pack out machine. The bottles have flat caps and are fairly easy to get a seal with almost any vacuum cups that are the
There are 5 major factors that I think about when I am specifying a robot for an application; reach, payload, speed, application type/versatility and lastly, cost.
Reach
Reach is one of the most important factors to getting the right size robot for your application. Some applications are as easy as just a simple pick and place and you can measure from the pick position to the place position and verify what kind of a reach you need from your robot.
However, sometimes you n
I've been supporting the implementation of a Kassow KR1410 collaborative robot for a pack out application, I wanted to provide some tips on integrating a collaborative robot based on my experiences.
Fully understand the system requirements
I cannot emphasize how important it is to understand the system requirements, or if there is a machine that already does a similar job it is very important to study that machine and fully understand the process. After I’m confident in the re
Let’s say you are trying to implement a pick and place application with your robot. Industrial robots are amazing in terms of going to the place they were told to go. But what if that place we told them to go changes constantly and we don’t know where the part is going to be next time around. That’s when we use machine vision’s help to guide our robot to the right pick location.
The general idea is that a vision system needs to be looking at the potential pick locations, and tell the
FR-E800 brings together advances in quality, performance, and predictive maintenance capabilities in one multi-purpose inverter.
The FR-E800 Series variable frequency drive is built upon Mitsubishi Electric’s proven variable speed control technology throughout years of reliable operation across various constant and variable torque applications. Designed to save energy and minimize cost, the FR-E800 brings together advances in quality, performance, and predictive maintenance capabilities in
Single camera solution to multi-camera applications
The In-Sight 9000 series offers Cognex’s first rugged, ultra-high-resolution, standalone vision systems. With its ability to acquire and process exceptionally detailed images, the In-Sight 9000 delivers high accuracy part location, measurement, and inspection over a large area—even when mounted at longer distances. Line scan and area scan image acquisition options are available for imaging continuously moving or stationary objects.
St
Intelligent, Autonomous Cobot Pump
Schmalz ECBPi vacuum pumpSchmalz CobotPump ECBPi is a new generation of intelligent vacuum generators that do not need compressed air. These flexible pumps are designed for use in mobile robotics, fully automated small parts handling and stationary handling tasks.
The intelligent electric vacuum generator includes an integrated interface for controlling and monitoring the handling process. Connection via IO-Link allows process monitoring and predictiv
Mecademic robot arms are intended for industrial use in a wide range of applications including precision assembly, testing & inspection, microprecision positioning, pick & place, and dispensing. The Meca500 is already put to work in various industry sectors such as electronics, pharmaceutical, and health.
The Meca500 Ultracompact Robot Arm is less than half the size of other small industrial robots, and its controller is embedded in its base, eliminating the need for a bulky externa
The high-speed IXA SCARA Robot holds the fastest cycle times and yet achieves a lower price than previous SCARA models. The arch motion smoothly blends both horizontal and vertical motion to accomplish continuous high-speed cycle times.
Fastest Cycle Times : The following measurements were taken during arch motion cycle operation under the following conditions.
Achieves a Lower Price : The new SCARA robot is even more affordable than previous models. Plus, it offers even better
datasheet-flexy-205.pdfThe eWON Flexy 205 is an advanced internet data gateway that allows Machine Builders to monitor and collect vital KPIs for analysis and predictive maintenance. With data logging, alarming, built-in web interface, scripting and enhanced internet connectivity, the Flexy 205 is a modular Internet Gateway for your IoT deployment. It also supports VPN Remote Access for easy troubleshooting of your distant industrial equipment.
Secure Remote
Allow service engineers to
Designed for high-speed, high-throughput manufacturing and logistics lines, DataMan 470 is the fastest and most powerful reader in the company’s line of industrial barcode readers.
DataMan 470 uses new, patent-pending imaging technology to easily solve challenging applications. The High Dynamic Range Plus (HDR+) technology enhances the image quality of 1D and 2D codes, in addition to providing greater coverage and faster speeds than conventional readers. It also reads low contrast and ultra
Barcode verification is the process of grading the quality of barcodes. Barcode verifiers capture images and generate reports to demonstrate compliance to parameters within industry standardization guidelines.
The DataMan 8070 series barcode verifier from Cognex is packed with powerful lighting options, robust grading algorithms, a high-speed processing engine, and a high-resolution camera to capture and grade the most difficult direct part mark (DPM) codes. Combined with simple DataMan Set
MiR500 is designed to automate the transportation of pallets and heavy loads across industries. With a payload of 500 kg, speed of 2 m/sec and a footprint of 1350×920 mm, MiR500 is the largest, most powerful, fastest and robust collaborative, autonomous mobile robot from MiR.
Safe and efficient maneuvering
The collaborative MIR500 safely maneuvers around people and physical obstacles. With its advanced technology and sophisticated software, the robot autonomously navigates to find the
The RV-FR series robot’s “Next-Generation Intelligent Functions” make it simple to carry out work that has always defied automation.With an extensive selection of arm sizes, configurations and protection ratings the MELFA RV-FR-Series line of robots are ready to tackle all of your automation needs. The RV-FR series offers a highly-dynamic 6-axis articulated robot for a high degree of quality. The double-arm structure not only provides a plus in terms of freedom of movement, but also more stabili
Within logistics applications, the MirHook™ mobile industrial robot is often used to tow a pallet with a pallet fork. The mobile robot can locate the pallet fork and transport it to it’s destination autonomously. In this way the employees only have to load and unload the pallet from the pallet fork, saving valuable time by not needing to do the transportation themselves.
The MiRHook supports the transport of loads up to 500 kg (1100 lbs) , providing exciting new internal logistics options f
This Process Control Metrics (PCM) video provides an overview of the PCM in the Cognex DataMan industrial code readers. It explains the difference between “verification” and “process control metrics”.
This educational video talks in detail about Process Control Metrics which allow you to monitor the quality of the codes being read and identify key aspects of the print quality while online to ensure downstream readability. The PCM Application makes it easy to configure and report the PCM res
