Recent figures from the IFR world robotics report 2012 shows Britain significantly lagging behind not just other European countries, but also growing economies, in terms of robot density per 10,000 employees. Furthermore, recent reports from the British Automation and Robot Association [BARA] show adoption levels of robots to be centred heavily in the automotive sector leaving food, drink, plastics and pharmaceuticals lagging behind.
So why should this be? Is it a lack of understanding of the technology or the potential gains to be derived, a fear to invest in capital equipment, or a mixture of them all? A properly researched and engineered solution can bring significant benefits to the user in terms of performance, quality, efficiency, safety and flexibility.
Let’s take a look at the technology available today for pick and place using a Delta or parallel style robot system as the example. A basic robot cell will need to incorporate the robot itself, a controller, safety, vision, and potentially some other associated I/O and additional axes of motion - infeed and outfeed conveyors, for example.
If a machine builder has to take them from various vendors, using numerous and separately developed technologies and communication protocols, a user could potentially be facing a lot of risk. But single integrated platforms do exist that include all key components required to create a successful robotic pick and place application, including logic, motion, robotics and vision, plus safety and I/O - Omron's Sysmac, for example.
Sysmac uses two distinct networks in every controller. First, EtherNet/IP, designed for transmitting larger amounts of data between controllers and to enterprise systems, as well as a link to local HMI stations. Secondly, every Sysmac controller also has an EtherCAT port as standard, and this is used as the machine network because of its fast and deterministic technology which is ideal for motion and robotic applications.
The Sysmac controller range includes numerous models to allow the user to choose the most suitable product - the largest controlling up to 64 servo axes, as well as the aforementioned I/O, inverters and vision.
A crucial part of any pick and place application is the vision system. For a system that is required to simply identify the position of a part to be picked on a conveyor, Omron's FQM vision sensor is easily integrated into the EtherCAT network and will accept a direct input from the conveyor encoder. And if a more advanced vision system is required, the FH high speed, precise and easy to use vision system is capable of controlling multiple camera inputs - all of which are integrated on the EtherCAT network.
As productivity improvements continually challenge us all, machine designers often need to integrate more than one robot into a project. One of Sysmac's advantages is that it can handle multiple Delta robots, and is capable of incorporating up to eight systems on a single controller. And depending upon the model used, throughputs in excess of 150 picks per minute can be achieved per robot.
Complementing the hardware platform is Omron’s Sysmac Studio software, which offers the user a single programming environment, integrated configuration, programming, monitoring and simulation of all project tasks, a suite of functions that saves time and reduces the burden of risk that often goes with such projects.
Robert Brooks is a product marketing manager at Omron in the UK