The archived webinar is available for viewing on demand so you won’t miss a thing. In the meantime, here are answers to some of the specific questions that came up from your peers who are already looking into how cobots can help them be more competitive.
CAN COBOTS CARRY OUT MULTIPLE-AXIS ELECTRONICS ASSEMBLY?
A common need in electronics assembly is the ability to manipulate a circuit board in multiple axes—a situation that’s ideal for 6-axis cobots. A cobot can take a board off an assembly line and install it into a chassis, which often involves inserting one edge with the proper orientation, then rotating the board down into the chassis and snapping it into place with appropriate force. The cobot can also put the cover on the chassis and even drive screws to close it up. Other ideal multi-axis applications for cobots include snapping apart paneled boards or inserting and removing boards from a test jig.
CAN A COBOT WORK IN COLLABORATION WITH ANOTHER COBOT IN APPLICATIONS SUCH AS A PRESS-FIT ASSEMBLY?
Cobots are designed to collaborate—with human workers, other automation equipment, or other cobots. In an assembly line, a cobot is ideal for tasks that are boring or can cause repetitive injuries for human workers, such as snapping boards apart or press-fitting connectors. Gluing is another popular assembly task for cobots, since the robot can be programmed to dispense a consistent, accurate adhesive bead that can have a big impact on quality. (This video shows Creating Revolutions using a cobot for a gluing task in an electronics assembly line.)
You could easily implement a row of robot cells, each performing a different task and handing the board off to the next assembly cell. Cobots’ flexibility and ease of programming mean they can be quickly redeployed to different tasks as production needs changed, and programs can be saved for common tasks so set-up time is minimal.