Robots in Manufacturing - Research Paper Example

?Robots in Manufacturing By Table of Contents MEMORANDUM 3 4 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND 4 OBJECTIVES 5 THE BENEFITS OF USING THE ROBOTIC SYSTEM IN INDUSTRIES 5 Reducing Costs of Production 6 Justification 6 Manufacturing productivity 6 Justification 7 ROLE OF ROBOTS IN MODREN WORLD 7 Distinct Needs 8 Justification 8 COMPUTER-AIDED DESIGN 8 Geometric Modeling 9 The Uses of Computer-aided designing In Industries 9 Value of Computer Aided Designing 10 HUMAN-ROBOTS COLLABORATION 10 Collaborative Efforts of Labor and Machines 10 EXAMPLE OF INJECTUN MOLDING 11 Reduction in Cycle Periods 12 Justification 12 CONCLUSION 13 MEMORANDUM In the past few years, we have seen massive developments in every walk of life because of advancements of technology. In this scenario, the emergence of robots has emerged an attractive trend which has facilitated the entire world. In fact, there is a field known as robotics which studies the role of robots in different areas of life. Without a doubt, these robots have started playing significant roles in different areas but this report discusses the role of robots in manufacturing. It is an admitted fact that organizations those are engaged in manufacturing industries need automated systems to deal with their varying needs. In this scenario, robots are reprogrammable, multifunctional machine intended to move material, tools, parts or particular devices through a variety of engineered motions for performing various tasks. This report has studied the uses of robots in various areas of manufacturing. The use of robots in manufacturing is believed to be very helpful for the reason that manufacturing industries require dealing with complicated machines and working on these machines involves serious risk factors especially related to human health. In this scenario, the use of robots can help manufacturing industries deal with these serious issues as well as save lots of costs associated with manufacturing process. In this report I have studied various aspects associated with robots with respect to their usage in manufacturing. In this report I have discussed how the use of robots allows manufacturing industries to reduce costs by replacing machines with humans. This report presents interesting facts regarding robots that allow readers to get a detailed insight of robots especially their functionality and advantages in manufacturing. ABSTRACT In the past few years, the use of robots has increased in every area of business organizations. Additionally, many organizations have adopted robots for various purposes such as for packaging, installation, moving materials from one unit to another. This report discusses the use of robots in manufacturing industries. The use of robots in manufacturing industries brings a number of benefits such as reduction in costs and saving from health related issues. The basic purpose of this research is to discuss how robots can be used in manufacturing and what benefits can be achieved by the organizations through the adoption of these robots. This report summarizes the concepts discussed by various authors and analyzes it to present the role of robots in manufacturing. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND The competitive environment for manufacturers today has necessitated it for them to be more productive, efficient and dynamic. Since customers are the ultimate stakeholder, all businesses are moving towards meeting their expectations and fulfilling their satisfaction by adopting automated manufacturing to improve in quality cost and timeliness aspects. Moreover, equipment deployed by business in manufacturing processes and operations need to be efficiently utilized to their maximum capacity to enhance profitability. This has been made possible through usage of robots for handling, running and managing machinery, tools and equipment’s (Mathur et al., 2011, p.77). Hundreds of enterprises have succeeded in their business by switching to automated manufacturing to avail its benefits and exploit new opportunities and horizons (Papakostas et al., 2011, p.650). This paper entails the application of robots in manufacturing industries and benefits derived from it. It also explains the limitations and loopholes where automation doesn’t prove to be saving grace for a business. With references to practical examples, opinions illustrated by scholarly articles in this regard and modern business automated practices, this report is intended to summarize the findings and conclusions that have been drawn from this entire research study. OBJECTIVES The basic objective of this research is to analyze the role of robots in manufacturing industries. This report presents a detailed analysis of robots with respect to its use in manufacturing industries. The objective of this research is to discuss the advantages of using robots in manufacturing. THE BENEFITS OF USING THE ROBOTIC SYSTEM IN INDUSTRIES Manufacturing industries require customized automated systems to cater their voluminous needs. Robots are programmed with expert knowledge to be tailored and integrated for manufacturing system. They are put to best use when used as special-purpose machines in industries where long-batch monotonous processing is being followed to produce homogenous products, requiring no human intervention or technical intelligence. However, it gets complicated when manufacturing requires integration of large number of heterogeneous techniques. Such integration is a challenge since conventional automation where normative models are used to program robots proves out to be inadequate. To combat this, modern robots were built supporting standardization, modularization and vertical and horizontal integration. Nonetheless, for simpler small-scale processing plants, current developments in robots and their support for system integration are sufficient to facilitate tasks like assembling, machining and straightforward decision-making which do not exhibit substantial deviations between actual and modeled behavior as that might require human intelligence (Bjorkelund, et al., 2011,9). Reducing Costs of Production Automated systems are not only capable of supporting small batch cycles but also result in significant reduction of unit costs and batch costs. Thus the technology would help facilitate the just-in-time manufacturing objectives being demanded in virtually every industry that produces potentially customizable products. Usage of robots becomes source of reduction in time taken to produce customized goods, thereby making it possible for organization to adopt and benefit from just-in-time inventory maintenance and production methodology. Justification The cost of production can be decreased through the use of robots. For instance, in the manufacturing industry robots can be replaced with humans. A robot does not need rest like humans and does not require any salary at the end of the month. In this way, the cost of production decreases. Manufacturing productivity Manufacturing productivity is enhanced through automation since it enables the elimination of bottle-necks in production runs, making life cycles of products shorter. Process scheduling becomes more efficient through automation through enhanced control over production systems. Another viewpoint for this aspect is enhancement of satisfaction of customers through timely deliveries, accurate quotations and economical pricing routed via cost reduction (David,et al., 2011,19-20). Justification As discussed above, the cost of production is decreased and the quality of products increases for the reason that using robots there is less chance of mistakes. In addition, robots can perform tasks more quickly than humans and the quality of production can also be increased. In view of the fact that robots do not waste time in rest so they can work continuously for 24 hours in a day, which will improve the productivity of manufacturing industries. ROLE OF ROBOTS IN MODREN WORLD In chronological sequence, the first generation machines were developed using artificial intelligence technology where robots were given limited capabilities to carry out cognitive processing and decision-making as that by humans. Attributes for different parts and technical manufacturing knowledge were programmed into robots, enabling them to make planning decisions based on identification of different variables and benchmarking them against programmed master data. Later, robots were created through physics-based modeling to be able to carry out selection and optimization of various process factors. Planning plays an essential role for manufacturing processes and therefore implementation of advanced robotics in this area was one of the core concerns of scientists in subsequent recent years. Distinct Needs Acknowledging the fact that different manufacturing sectors have distinct needs for planning and problem solving, machine-driven planning phenomenon came into being. This has proved to be one of most effective advancements in field of automation since it has facilitated initial planning stage of processes for hundreds of manufacturing concerns. In turn, this invention was possible due to radical developments in shop floor communications and powerful modern machines that could provide support system for this concept. A similar approach, namely volume-driven prototyping is more feasible for processes where a single universal plan is sufficient to aid manufacturing of all homogenous components regardless of their slightly differing attributes. As a pre-requisite for this approach to be adopted, advanced computing tools and latest technology hardware must be in place (David, et al., 2011, 3-4). Justification Robots are developed to address distinct needs of industries. Different robots carry out different tasks. For instance, some robots are developed to work in packaging units and some robots also work as sales persons in the shops. In this way different robots perform different tasks. COMPUTER-AIDED DESIGN One of the most common applications of automation in manufacturing industry entails the concept of geometric modeling. Geometric Modeling It refers to the use of comprehensive 3-dimensionalmodels and artificial simulations to evaluate the feasibility of a certain process or product. Actual research and development on a prototype is very costly and might seem impracticable due to physical limitations. However, robotics made it possible through computer-aided designing tools to build virtual prototypes, test it under different circumstances and make frequent modifications without incurring extra costs, as shown in the diagram below. It also removes the need to manually define characteristics and dimensions of parts and replaces it with automated extraction of desired features directly from virtually built models. The Uses of Computer-aided designing In Industries Computer-aided designing is a powerful and extensive technique, currently being used in for diversified purposes, including industries like automotive, construction and architecture, prosthetics and most critically important in aerospace. The most considerable part of computer-aided design is its compatibility with Computer Numerical Control (CNC) technology. CNC is a mechanism, which is capable of controlling and operating, through software program that is based on coded alphanumeric data, the movements, functionality and input parameters (on/off switches, velocity, physical accuracy) of a manufacturing machine. This means that once the design has been completed by expert, it shall be conveniently stored in softcopy form for later use and when appropriate stage comes, shall be converted to a form easily readable by CNC machines which provide possibility of generating a real physical sample or model based on a virtually designed prototype (Carlos, 2011, 9-10). Value of Computer Aided Designing In the past few years, the trend of using computer aided designing has increased to a massive extent. Now the majority of manufacturing industries make use of latest tools and techniques supported by latest computer machines to manufacture the designs of their products. These designs are developed quickly and contain less chance of errors. HUMAN-ROBOTS COLLABORATION It is worth mentioning that many scientists, still to date, belong to school of thought, which believes that skilled technicians play an integral part and cannot be equally replaced by machines. They strongly argue that cognitive capabilities of robots are far less than humans and cannot match them, at least in today’s technological state. Therefore, they suggest that the optimal solution to enhancing maximum productivity in manufacturing industry is the collaboration of human capital and man-made capital. It is observed that robots in manual production setting, make an ideal scenario when are in close interaction with labor. The conventional extreme trends, whereby either industrial machines are kept isolated from manpower or otherwise work is completely carried out manually, are no longer acceptable in modern times: robots assist in manual production process and create synergetic effects for the business as a whole. Collaborative Efforts of Labor and Machines Collaborative efforts of labor and machines have proved to be a source of increased efficiency of business processes for manufacturing organizations. This can be seen by taking example of FRIDA (as illustrated in the visual below), an aide robot that helps a mechanic by selecting the correct bolts and fasteners, rotating and tightening them and inserting them as instructed. Figure 1.ABB FRIDE robot acting as a robotic assistant .The human mechanic is able to keep his attention on prior and primary work, which requires his intelligence and expertise, without getting his attention divided and diverted to other clerical and repetitive tasks. Consequently, the overall task shall benefit through parallelization of tasks by saving time and enhanced productivity (Wilcox et al., 2012, 2). EXAMPLE OF INJECTUN MOLDING Figure 2.A short example where robots have been successfully applied in industrial world. Injection molding, process of making thermoplastic polymer components, is one of the most significant advancements enabled through automation. Its ability to produce parts with accurate finishing within short span of period, this process is appropriate for voluminous and bulky production quantities. Taken from Kenplas(2013). PET Injection Molding Machine.Retrieved from http://www.kenplas.com/imm/kpet32. JPG) Reduction in Cycle Periods Moreover, entities engaged in this process are pursuing further reduction in cycle periods by incorporating advanced automation, so that designing of an entire mold is just a click away, subsequent to completion of CAD model of the relevant parts. However, similar to CNC machine scenario, substantial number of obstacles must be overcome before making final decision including several technical and complex geometrical and optimization aspects. To differentiate their products, recently organizations in this industry have initiated usage of specialized molds with distinct features. As a result, focus in this field has radically shifted towards issues pertaining to automated specialized mold design. Now, automation has enabled construction of complex parts through introduction of multi-piece molds. Similarly, various processes involved in designing of mold, such as locating parting lines, creating mold pieces etc, have been supported through automated geometric algorithms. Thus, this complex and commonly used process in manufacturing has been conveniently automated to benefit enterprises working in this field and enabling them to launch creative methodologies and new products apart from those with basic features (David, et al., 2011, 8-11). Justification These days, robots are commonly used in different industries. In some organizations they are used for packaging and transporting material from one place to another. In medical sector these robots are being employed to perform human surgery by working in collaboration with doctors. These robots ensure higher accuracy. CONCLUSION Automation has revolutionized manufacturing industries by providing hardware, computer-aided design software and advanced techniques. Complex construction and designing processes are carried out within short period of time in a more controlled environment, by virtue of robotics. However, it is highly debatable topic whether automation must be promoted to work in isolation or with collaboration of human efforts. Masses argue that 100% complete automation has caused many manufacturing concerns to fail badly as processes couldn’t be optimally controlled by robots and soon business efficiency deteriorated and corporations collapsed. Without human interference, it is risky to be blindly dependent on accurate automated processing unsupervised and uncontrolled. Automation tends to backfire in many situations and therefore some human element is mandatory for ensuring that machines are working as planned and in direction that accomplishes corporate objectives successfully. It is still an enormous challenge for robotics industries to manufacture cognitive robotics that can match human intelligence, learning and judgment. Fully unstructured environments with autonomous control to machines are impracticable in today’s technological circumstances and some form of human interaction is pivotal to ensure smooth manufacturing operations. Nevertheless, several human instincts have been so far incorporated into robots such as learning curve enhancements, adaptability and intelligent contingency planning. It is therefore safe to conclude that full scale prototyping in real-time simulations is bringer technology closer to creation of most advanced forms of robots and in near future might be producing next generation of machines that may be able to perfectly replace man in manufacturing. Annotated Bibliography Bjorkelund, A., Edstrom, L., Haage, M., Malec, J., Nilsson, K., Nugues, P, . . . Bruyninckx, H. (2011, May). On the integration of skilled robot motions for productivity in manufacturing. Paper presented at the IEEE International Symposium On Assembly and Manufacturing, Tampere. In this paper authors discuss the role of robots in manufacturing. This paper gives a detailed insight into the uses of robots in manufacturing industries. In this paper authors focus on the integration of robots with human knowledge regarding both machine control and production. In this paper authors give the solution of problems that happen because of modern generations of especially flexible robot solutions, in applications for instance adroit assembly, the robot setup and programming. In addition, high quality robots with sensor-based cognitive functions and management expertise for human communication have turned out to be complicated to deal with, and solutions are hardly ever reusable in view of the fact that knowledge is either implied in essential software or not captured in machine readable form. In this paper, authors propose a solution to deal with these challenges. This solution is built on accessible facts by translating controlled data into an RDF-based knowledge base. Carlos, S. M. (July, 2011). Robots in manufacturing. IT Systems, 2-108. Retrieved from Technical University of Vienna website. This is a small book written by Carlos Sanz Monge. In this book the author discusses a general overview of robots and its uses in manufacturing industry. I have used this book to understand the advantages of robots with respect to manufacturing industry. This book presents an excellent analysis of automated and computer integrated manufacturing. David, B.,Corney, J., &Gupta, S.A K. (2011). Recent advances and future challenges in automated manufacturing planning. Transactions of the ASME-S-Computing and Infor Science in Engineering, 11(2), 8-11.doi: 10.1115/1.3593411 As its name indicates in this paper authors discuss the overview of robots. This paper gives a detailed analysis of robots, its applications and advancements with respect to automated manufacturing planning. This paper discusses in detail how organizations use robots in manufacturing industries. MATSUMOTO, A., MIZUKAWA, M., KOYAMA, T. & MATSUKA, H., 2000. Can Industrial Robots Be Connected with Each Other? – Open and Networked Industrial Robots –. In 7th International Conference on Parallel and Distributed Systems: Workshops., 2000. IEEE. This paper discusses how robots can be connected with each other by using the networks. This paper presents a detailed analysis of the historical and current status of the open and networked industrial robots. This paper presents a detailed description of robots that are being networked in order to complete tasks in manufacturing industries. Mathur, A., Dangayach, G.S., Mittal,M.L., &Milind, K. (2011). Performance measurement in automated manufacturing. Measuring Business Excellence, 15(1), 77-91. In this paper authors discuss the role of automated manufacturing. In this paper authors discuss how performance is measured in automated manufacturing. In this paper authors discuss that equipment effectiveness is believed to be most important aspect and generally an approved metric for determining the on the whole performance of single automatic equipments. In this paper, authors discuss how equipment effectiveness can be adapted and extended into a number of variations for use as a formula for automatic manufacturing systems comprising a number of automatic machines. Nam, H.Y., Choi, C. & Mendenhall, S., 2011. Please smile. In C&C '11 Proceedings of the 8th ACM conference on Creativity and cognition. New York, 2011. ACM. In this paper authors discuss that robots reduce the costs of manufacturing and bring innovative changes to lifestyles of handiness. As a result, robots are turning out to be all-encompassing everywhere whether in our homes, hospitals and museums. This paper discusses how people communicate with creative robots as over simple machines in the concept of intentionality and introduces the execution of the creative robot. Papakostas, N.,Michalos, G.,Makris,S., Zouzias, D.,&Chryssolouris,G.(2011). Industrial applications with cooperating robots for the flexible assembly. International Journal of Computer Integrated Manufacturing, 24, 2-26. This paper presents good analysis of robots in the context of their usage in manufacturing industries. This paper starts with an introduction of the importance of robots for manufacturing. This paper also discusses how robots can be used in manufacturing. Shi, J. & Menassa, R., 2010. Transitional or partnership human and robot collaboration for automotive assembly. In PerMIS '10 Proceedings of the 10th Performance Metrics for Intelligent Systems Workshop. New York, 2010. ACM. In this paper, authors focus on the collaboration of humans and robots in performing manufacturing tasks. In this paper authors argue that traditional manufacturing tasks are automated up to now by industrial robots make use of a human robot elimination policy for standard production. In this paper, authors present a detailed discussion on the role of human robot collaboration with comprehensive manufacturing processes. In this paper authors discuss the problems and solutions of human-robot collaboration. Wilcox,R., Nikolaidis, S., & Shah, J. (2012). Optimization of temporal dynamics for adaptive human-robot interaction in assembly manufacturing. Retrieved from Massachusetts Institute of Technology website. In this paper authors discuss the importance of human-robot collaboration. According to authors, by increasing human-robot collaboration manufacturing industries can be able to improve the effectiveness of assembly and manufacturing processes, mainly for aerospace manufacturing where close variability and integration in the build process make physical separation of robotic-only work complicated. In this paper, authors present an idea for a control capability and robotic scheduling that becomes accustomed to the varying preferences of a human supervisor or colleague while offering effective assurance for timing and harmonization of processes. Yu, Z., Ghosh, B.K., Xi, N. & Tarn, T.-J., 1995. Multi-Sensor Based Planning and Conrol for Robotic Manufacturing System. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS '95)., 1995. IEEE. This paper starts with an introduction of robots with respect to manufacturing industries. In this paper authors and presented a multi-sensor based control scheme and planning for robotic manufacturing. Appendices A). Glossary Robots These are programmed machines which are developed to perform specific tasks. Robotics A field of science which studies all the aspects associated with robots and their working. Automation Process of computerizing and automating a process that repeats over time Automated systems The systems which are automated and perform their tasks without human intervention Customized automated systems The automated systems which can be changed according to varying changes of the manufacturing firms Process Scheduling The decision regarding the sequence of processes Artificial Intelligence The science which deals with processes used to make the machines intelligent Manufacturing Industries All processes that are used to develop products from the production and integration of a product's parts Geometric Modeling The use of comprehensive 3-dimensionalmodels and artificial simulations to evaluate the feasibility of a certain process or product Computer Numerical Control (CNC) CNC is a mechanism, which is capable of controlling and operating, through software program that is based on coded alphanumeric data, the movements, functionality and input parameters (on/off switches, velocity, physical accuracy) of a manufacturing machine. Prototype Initial version of working product with limited working features, used to take an idea of the product FRIDA FRIDA is an aide robot that helps a mechanic by selecting the correct bolts and fasteners, rotating and tightening them and inserting them as instructed. 2). Methodology A methodology is a framework that allows us to carry out the research in a sequence. The research methodology tells us how we will collect data, from where we will collect data and how we will process that data. There are many research methodologies which are used in different situations according to the nature of data and type of project. As this research is based on explaining the viewpoints of other authors so I have chosen secondary research methodology for this research. In this scenario, I have conducted a detailed research and analyzed a number of research papers from well reputed journals. This report has presented the concepts and ideas from different articles. Read More