Discover the characteristics of industrial robotics, its applications, and how it works. Mechanical development has prompted genuine unrest in the creation area, spreading modern advanced mechanics frameworks. These arrangements are at the core of industry 4.0, on account of the vast advancement that has occurred as of late in the product and equipment fields. It is no incident that we regularly talk about savvy producing, a high-level methodology with excellent coordination between the physical and computerized world.
All this is possible thanks to automation and robotics. These two aspects are making today’s factories highly evolved hi-tech places, where a human contribution is increasingly reduced, often limited to controlling the operation of modern industrial machines. The potential is enormous in terms of efficiency and safety to optimize productivity and avoid human presence in dangerous and more complex contexts to manage.
What Is Industrial Robotics?
Industrial robotics refers to a series of advanced machines used within industries, capable of carrying out difficult and complex tasks safely and efficiently. This is a recent sector linked to new artificial intelligence technologies in the last 20 years. Progress has also been achieved by creating increasingly sophisticated hardware capable of replicating the main actions performed by human beings.
In general, industrial automation makes it possible to replace men and women inside factories, using sophisticated machines to perform many tasks that company employees only completed recently. These tools are called industrial robots, as they are machines designed specifically for applications in production sites, with technical and operational specifications reserved for the industrial sector.
Automation And Industrial Robotics
Industrial automation is a branch created to offer a series of benefits to companies and the workers themselves. First of all, the goal was to optimize costs, as replacing people with machines increases productivity and decreases expenses for businesses. Furthermore, industrial robots can minimize risks to humans by avoiding their employment in complex and dangerous activities, for example, where there is potential contact with flammable or explosive substances.
At the same time, robots can carry out heavy tasks, such as lifting heavy loads and handling complex components safely, leaving industrial workers with the ability to perform other less burdensome tasks. The first advancement was obtained with the industrial revolution when the first machines began to be used to carry out activities that were previously only carried out by men or to exploit the work of animals. In this phase, we moved from a first step, in which the machines still required the presence of people to function, up to a more advanced interaction between man and machine in factories. This is the case, for example, of the first assembly lines in the automotive sector, where mechanical systems and employees work synergistically to obtain the final product.
Then we moved on to the industrial automation of the machines. Some control operations were also sold, reserving the task of checking the correct functioning of the robotic systems to the technicians. The evolution of information technology and electronics has made it possible to develop new advanced industrial robots capable of carrying out almost any activity thanks to microprocessors and controllers programmed by exceptional technicians using the software. Human intervention has therefore gone from being reduced to absent. In fact, in today’s modern factories, the presence of people is minimal and reserved for planning and controlling tasks.
How Industrial Robots Work
From the end of the 18th century to today, industrial robots have accompanied the four revolutions in the sector.
- first industrial revolution (18th-19th century): machines operated with mechanical energy help men to carry out complex and demanding activities;
- second industrial revolution (late nineteenth century first half of the twentieth century): electricity allows mass production and introduces the assembly line approach;
- third industrial revolution (second part of the twentieth century): electronics and information technology make it possible to automate some processes, reducing the presence of people in factories;
- Fourth industrial revolution: Big Data, artificial intelligence, and machine learning make it possible to use intelligent industrial machines without the presence of men.
With industry 4.0, modern robots can work essentially independently, utilizing AI frameworks to become increasingly performing and settle on choices autonomously. These machines are made based on the commitment of different areas, for example, mechatronics and data innovation, to permit the ideal blend of programming for learning and information handling with the development vital for modern exercises. Current modern robots can perform errands given by an expert through programming.
In any case, they can autonomously comprehend the ideal way to accomplish the handling to be thought about by incalculable factors. There are various kinds of robots for industry, for example, mechanical arms, machines that move directly on the three Cartesian tomahawks, or current cooperative robots fit for communicating securely with people. Otherwise called cobots are progressed human robots that emerged around 10-15 years in the modern field, addressing one of the most complex models accessible today.
These machines can continue on a 6-pivot framework, and they can likewise work in close contact with the administrator in excellent wellbeing, even without some assurance. Traditional, modern robots should be introduced to avoid dangers and associations with individuals. Likewise, the human ones can ensure better execution as far as speed and require a more modest impression.
For instance, with a cooperative robot, the worker of an exploration lab can assemble a few examples, after which he breezes through the assessment cylinders to the machine that oversees them for the different investigations to be done. Simultaneously, the product, at last, gives the investigation results. Cooperative modern robots can be utilized in similar workspaces where individuals work, for instance, to palletize items. Simultaneously, the expert performs different assignments or gauges the bundles in the specific place where a professional performs quality checks.
Industrial Automation Applications
The applications of industrial robots are innumerable. Thanks to the new collaborative machines and solutions that integrate AI systems, it is possible to use these devices in any context. In particular, industrial automation is found in the following sectors:
- automotive;
- aerospace;
- food;
- biotechnology;
- chemist;
- electronics;
- medical;
- nautical.
Robotic systems are used to produce sports equipment, complex furnishings, and 3D modeling in the creative sector. Industrial robots can perform polishing, screwing, laboratory analysis, gluing, and welding activities. These machines can operate in unhealthy, dangerous, and challenging environments, working independently and collaborating with technicians and workers.
Also Read: What Is The RPA? Robotic Automation Of Logistics Processes
