Page 19 - MetalForming March 2023 - PMA Chairman Jeff Aznavorian

Cobots in the Press
Room
Five Considerations
Collaborative robots (cobots) can offer numerous advantages in installation, flexibility, cost and programmability—and more—over traditional industrial robots. To get the most from cobots, mind the following.
BY JOE CAMPBELL
Cobot-powered press automation enables companies to address labor shortages, boost produc- tivity and throughput, and improve quality. Case in point: Siouxland Fab-
Joe Campbell is senior manager, strate- gic marketing and applications devel- opment, at Universal Robots A/S; www.universal-robots.com.
Danish short-run production company Stantraek deployed one its two cobots to place mechanical components in a stamping press from a rotary table, before retrieving and boxing them. The deployment provided a production boost and quality improvements that enabled Stantraek to almost double its revenues, according to company officials. Photo courtesy of Universal Robots.
ricating Inc. When the small Iowa- based custom fabricator struggled to find workers for an important high- mix, low-volume stamping application, the company decided to deploy a cobot-based solution instead.
The solution involves the cobot pick- ing a part, placing it in a stamping press, actuating the machine and palletizing the finished part. By taking over these time-consuming, nonergonomic man- ual jobs, collaborative automation filled a labor gap, cut cycle times in half and improved overall part quality.
With a recent report from Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute find- ing that inaction on the manufactur- ing-skills gap could cost the U.S. econ- omy as much as $1 trillion, Siouxland’s challenging labor experience is being repeated across hundreds of metal for- mers and fabricators all over the United States.
Labor shortages constitute the num- ber-one driver of collaborative- automation adoption, but lower total cost of ownership ( TCO), faster return on investment (ROI), and high usability and flexibility versus traditional automation also represent major moti- vating factors behind the surge of inter- est in cobot-based solutions.
In broad terms, cobots empower metal formers and fabricators of all sizes to automate stamping, press brake and other operations easily and effec- tively. In typical setups, cobots under- take repetitive and nonergonomic man- ual tasks, enabling companies to hire previously unfillable roles and—for those lucky enough to have workers in place—improve workplace ergonomics.
Not all cobot-based systems are the same, however, and it’s important to keep some key considerations in mind when selecting a pressroom
16 MetalForming/March 2023
www.metalformingmagazine.com