Page 33 - MetalForming March 2023 - PMA Chairman Jeff Aznavorian

Special Section
FABRICATION
30 MetalForming/March 2023 www.metalformingmagazine.com
Robot Retrofits:
When is it Time?
With proper maintenance, an industrial robot will remain in service for 10 to 15 yr. In many cases, retrofitting can extend—and even double—the life of these shopfloor workhorses.
BY LOUIS A. KREN, SENIOR EDITOR
Amidst a winter storm on the night of December 25, 1776, General George Washington led a column of Continental Army troops across the Delaware River to Trenton in the province of New Jersey, in prepa- ration for a surprise attack. The fol- lowing morning, Washington and his men took the fight to Hessian soldiers sided with the British. By nightfall on December 26, the attack’s success deliv- ered sorely needed momentum, ulti- mately leading to victory in the Amer- ican Revolution.
Another revolutionary event would occur in Trenton nearly two centuries later. In 1959, crews installed the 2700- lb. Unimate #001, a prototype industrial robot, on an assembly line at a General Motors diecasting plant. Within only a few years, hundreds of Unimate 1900s dotted shop floors, and the industrial world would never look the same.
Today, more than a half century after Trenton’s second revolutionary event, robotic automation spurs dizzying pro- ductivity rises in manufacturing oper- ations worldwide, offering rapid, repeatable and tireless action, often in
tasks deemed too dangerous or monot- onous for humans. Though tireless, robots won’t run forever.
For the most part, with proper main- tenance, an industrial robot will remain in service for 10 to 15 yr. Much depends on the harshness of the environment and application, as well as the terms surrounding supplier hardware, control and software support. In many cases, retrofitting can extend—and even dou- ble—the life of these shopfloor work- horses.
When can a retrofit pay off? Answer- ing that question is Steve Klopfenstein, senior manager of retrofit systems at Yaskawa America, Inc., Motoman Robotics Division, who recently authored a blog post on the topic, www.motoman.com/en-us/about/ blog/knowing-when-to-retrofit-your- robot. Klopfenstein and his team, locat- ed regionally throughout the United States, retrofit peripherals as well as robots, providing upgrades to extend automation life significantly. Through the team’s experiences and expertise, Klopfenstein offers valuable retrofit advice for MetalForming’s readers.
Upgrade Quality and Efficiency
Suppose a robotic welding opera- tion, for instance, fails to meet stan- dards for part quality. Perhaps this calls for an upgrade to a new power source or welding torch, as these items can age out and become frail, which impacts quality. Reach out to the robot or automation-system OEM or inte- grator, where a new solution often can be identified over the phone. End users in many cases can install much of this new equipment on their own.
“We’ve seen, within the past 5 to 10 yr., huge improvements in welding equipment and software, and fabrica- tors want the highest-quality and most efficient welds for their customers,” Klopfenstein tells MetalForming. “In most cases, this improved technology can be interfaced to older robots with- out issue, save for perhaps some com- munication modifications to derive the most from that new equipment and software.”
Many technologies for handling, painting and other tasks similarly can be retrofitted into a current setup to decrease cycle time and optimize