In general, the robotics market and the collaborative robotics market are rapidly evolving, and a forecast report indicates that the number of collaborative robots will increase at a staggering 57% compound annual growth rate between 2017 and 2023.
Collaboration robot supplier Rethink Robotics (Boston) has made the right choice in high-tech action. This groundbreaking company introduced the Baxter robot to the world in 2012, and in 2015 introduced a more flexible, more powerful, and more Friendly Sawyer robot.
'Collaborative robots can be implemented in a variety of industries, including packaging, plastics, electronics, metal manufacturing, automotive and general manufacturing,' said Mike Fair, product manager at Rethink Robotics.
Like many manufacturers, shop floor operations can be challenged by inefficient processes, unpredictable downtime and machine maintenance difficulties. Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) can help make the most of the shop's functions, using poorly identifiable performance And high-performance machine tools, and then optimize asset utilization accordingly.
'They are useful in a wide variety of manufacturing functions and play an important role in automation tasks that were previously only possible by humans. For collaborative robots, the best workflow includes repeatability. Tasks, these tasks often put pressure on human workers, or dangerous tasks to interact with other machines. By using robotic automation to accomplish these cumbersome and time-consuming tasks, factory workers are free to perform more valuable tasks. '
For readers of PlasticsToday magazine, we asked him about the specific applicability of collaborative robots in plastics.
'Plastic manufacturers are no strangers to filling repetitive, boring work. Fortunately, the lightweight nature of plastic parts makes them ideal for collaborative robots because their payload is lower than traditional industrial robots,' Fair answered Say. 'Collaborative robots can be deployed in a variety of tasks that are part of plastic manufacturing, including machine processing for injection or blow molding machines, packaging of finished parts, shipping and packaging of plastic parts."