Nondestructive testing of large components can be time consuming and requires several people to work quickly to minimize the impact of testing on the large component manufacturing process.
There is a lot of attention given to the growth of automation, specifically to robotics and artificial intelligence (AI), and its potential impact on the economy and the work force, current and future.
Over the last few years, collaborative robotics has come to the fore as a way to increase manufacturing flexibility and improve ROI. When considering a human-robot collaborative workcell, we explicitly incorporate and expect humans to be safely working close to and/or interacting with the robot during operation.
Collaborative robots helped manufacturers keep production lines running during the pandemic. They're accessible to small- and medium- sized businesses. And their simplicity just may help to shrink the skills gap.
Collaborative robots, or cobots, help humans and robots work together safely. Small, medium and large companies are increasingly choosing these human-friendly versions over traditional industrial robots, which are complex to use and are typically relegated to safety cages.
A smart sensor is simply a sensor that can communicate to provide real-time diagnostic data and adapt based on that data. The data can be used to optimize a system, reducing costly downtime and increasing quality.
For fast measurements of displacement, distance and position with high accuracy and resolution, laser triangulation sensors can be used in a variety of applications. The reasons are wear-free measurement, a large measuring range, high precision and easy installation.
Originally made popular by the introduction of Rethink Robotics’ Baxter, so-called collaborative robots have created a lot of excitement around the industry over the last few years.
For decades, quality, low cost, and on-time delivery have been the primary demands of manufacturing customers. Recently, a new demand has been added to the mix—speed. Customers still want a quality product delivered on-time at a fair price. Only now they want it faster.