FORMING AND FABRICATING AUTOMATION
9.2: Robots and Cobots Collaborative Pressroom Automation C ollaborative automation is changing the automation paradigm with a human-centric approach. Automated material handling and cobots that enhance worker safety, ease discomfort and improve pressroom productivity may be the key to attracting the next-gen workforce.
Temar manufactures lighting fixtures. The company’s family- run fabrication plant deploys cobots for welding, performing pick and place tasks in the paint shop, press tending, and for automating a laser cutting machine. The cobots’ ease of programming and operation, functionality, long arm reach, and safe operation factored in the company’s purchase decision. Temar estimates that adding the cobots has lowered its fabrication costs and boosted product quality.
and machine-tending cobots. These tech- nologies dramatically improve productivity, drive quality and boost employee engage- ment through side-by- side, human-automa- tion work on dull, dirty, dangerous tasks. Cobots are engi- neered purposefully to be human-sized
In dealing with the need to attract the next- gen workforce, metal forming and fabricating manufacturers find some relief by bringing in automation. Automation can address the repetitive, straining, dirty tasks that injure and bore humans, such as operating a single-hit gap-frame press. The dullest! Or post-op parts grinding. The dirtiest! By incorporating auto- mation, fabricators address their high-turn- over positions and make these roles more engaging. Many different collaborative automation technologies have been developed: lift-as- sist exoskeletons; movement-tracking wear- ables; virtual-reality training; augmented-real- ity operator-guidance systems; tele-operation maintenance robots; material-handling AMRs;
automation. They work alongside operators (following a risk assessment). Cobots’ col- laborative aspect doesn’t stop with the built-in safety functionality, however. Their simplified
interfaces and intuitive touch-to-teach func- tionality allow manufacturers to deploy them quickly in the press shop to accomplish a host of tasks.
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