Page 15 - MetalForming March 2023 - PMA Chairman Jeff Aznavorian

Automation
Cobot-Led Mobile Integrated Workstation for Welding, Machine Tending and More
Compatible with the Yaskawa HC10, HC10DT, HC10XP and HC10DTP collaborative robots (cobots), the HC10 mobile workstation from Yaskawa Motoman is an economical solution for integrating
HC10 robots with the YRC1000 controller (sold separately) into a single package, well-suited for arc welding, assembly, machine tending
and pick-and-place tasks.
Highly portable, the riser is quickly redeployed to meet evolving production demand.
Its space-saving footprint easily integrates into current manufacturing environments, and it can be moved efficiently with a pallet jack or forklift. The workstation’s metal cabinet houses the robot controller and offers a comfortable working height for most collaborative applications. Built-in leveling feet offer a stable platform while the robot runs at maximum speed and payload capacity.
Internally managed cables allow for simple setup and reduced expenses related to maintenance and spare-parts inventory. The workstation includes a 2-m-long robot cable with a 90-deg. connector to the controller for efficient wire management. Optional area scanners provide speed and separation monitoring, and, an optional stack light can alert nearby users of robot movement, alarms or general status.
Yaskawa Motoman: www.motoman.com
Automated Platform for Simplified Building, Running, Monitoring of Cobot Applications
OnRobot has launched D:Ploy, which automates robotic deployment for multiple applications directly on the factory floor with zero programming or simulation needed, according to company officials. The platform is designed for building, running, monitoring and re-deploying cobot applications, reportedly allowing complete applications to be deployed and redeployed directly on the manufacturing floor in a few simple steps, all within a few hours. At launch, the D:Ploy platform supports palletizing, CNC machine tending, packaging and transferring (pick-and-place) applications, with future announcements planned for additional processes.
D:Ploy, explain OnRobot officials, addresses the shortage of skilled robotics engineers and integrators, and can help smaller, less-experienced manufacturers break through existing barriers to automation. The platform works with many leading robot brands and can be applied to a variety of common applications, automating many of the manual steps necessary for building and running an application.
In practice, D:Ploy automatically discovers most of the installed hardware, and generates the robot motion based on the obstacles and cell boundaries defined in the workspace. The program logic, signals exchange, event handling and robot movement are automatically created for the entire application based on a few inputs such as workpiece attributes and pick position.
D:Ploy offers significant reduction in robotic cell deployment time and complexity, explain company officials. For example, they note, initial deployment of a palletizing application drops from 40 to 4 hr., a 90-percent time savings. When production requirements change, it enables quick redeployment of the application for new products or workpieces. And, the platform provides real-time monitoring to improve productivity and minimize downtime.
OnRobot: www.onrobot.com
Oqton Teams with Valk Welding
for Automatic Robotic Arc Welding Programming
Oqton, an automation-software provider, and Valk Welding, provider of flexible arc welding robots, announced a partnership where Oqton’s software will become part of Valk Welding’s Automatic Robotic Pro- gramming (ARP) solution for high-mix, low-volume production. The Valk Welding ARP powered by Oqton reportedly enables 10-times faster programming than tradi- tional offline programming solutions while allowing automated robotic welding that is three times faster than manual welding at a cost to four times lower than using manual labor. The new techniques and processes that the companies will develop jointly are intended to enhance the uti- lization of automated robotic welding for unique or small batch production that previously was only economically viable using manual methods, according to offi- cials from both companies.
Valk Welding ARP powered by Oqton autonomously generates robotic welding programs directly from 3D CAD files, reduc- ing the need for programming, and relies on artificial intelligence to learn from an operator’s best practices to refine process- es for future parts. As a result, welders can use the software without previous knowledge of robots or 3D geometry. It reportedly provides an ideal solution for high-mix, low-volume robotic welding for steel fabrication subcontractors manu- facturing lifting platforms, transport pallets, fencing and automotive subframes.
“Our market lead in 100-percent offline programmable welding robots is ready to make the jump to the next level,” says Peter Pittomvils, chief commercial officer for Valk Welding Group. “Besides our own projects, we also support Oqton to all other Panasonic system integrators to also serve their customers with this solution and our experience.”
Oqton: www.oqton.com
12 MetalForming/March 2023
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