Plastics Technology

FEB 2018

Plastics Technology - Dedicated to improving Plastics Processing.

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two-cavity molds, so when parts are removed, they're placed on a fixture that rotates so that the robot can grab from a single orienta- tion instead of multiple orientations. After it places the first part on the fixture, the robot swings back and grabs the second part. The human footprint in the cell is now significantly smaller, Bartle notes, because assembly tables are no longer needed, since workers combine components directly off a conveyor. "The pad printing and the cobot—that integration all happens in a very small space—and then the cobot hands off to the assembly line," Bartle explains. "So I don't really have a square-footage reduction, but you go from an extremely linear line down to a very small, short line that doesn't extend out much past the footprint of the machine itself." WPI has seen an increase in throughput because, as Bartle explains, "When you have the robot driving the cadence, people can maintain that pace more consistently." Machines know only one speed, or at least they can be set to run at a specific, consistent speed. "Human pace goes up and down throughout the day," Bartle says. "What this does is allow us to work at the pace of the machine, constantly. The cobot can maintain that pace, and then the humans will naturally maintain that pace too. The cobot didn't speed anything up, it just works consistently at the same pace. There are fewer distractions for the robot." MORE COBOTS COMING After overcoming initial anxiety about the cobot, WPI's workers more than embraced the technology, seeking added work for it, not less. "The team we put together to test this out was really active in trying to figure out ways to utilize the robot even more than we originally planned," Bartle says. "It was the assemblers on the line who were coming up with ideas: 'What if we position the robot in this direction and have it grab from here?' And, 'What if it sets it on the conveyor here vs. there?' They were really interactive in the process, and they're really proud of what they're a part of." The integration has been successful enough that WPI is now planning to bring in four more UR cobots over the next few years, according to Bartle. Despite the overall success, he does see one aspect of cobot integration that WPI would change next time around: "I would definitely get the manufacturing team, the assembly crew, the shift supervisor, and our shop techni- cians involved sooner in the setup because a lot of their ideas were what really took it to the next level." Going forward, WPI is considering using cobots to move parts from one location to another, as well as in pack- aging finished assemblies. "Maybe we can streamline one of those jobs that tend to be a low-skill boring job where folks are easily distracted," Bartle says, "so I can take my skilled-labor set and apply them to more challenging jobs." Increasingly, that's how WPI sees the role of automation going forward—getting more out of the people they have vs. getting to fewer people. "This is an opportunity for us to change how we're using our workforce," Bartle says, "because it can take the boring and tedious tasks away from assemblers and give them more challenging tasks, and at the same time open up some opportunities for robot programmers. The cobot freed up individuals to put them on other lines, which helps us grow, because in this day and age it seems like we tend to be short on employees rather than over." The robot can do multiple tasks in less space than would be required with a human assembly line. WPI uses the UR5 cobot to cycle parts through various printing steps before assembly. Universal Robots' UR5 model boasts 11-lb payload capacity, a reach of 33.5 in., and six rotating joints. QUESTIONS ABOUT AUTOMATION? Visit the Robots Zone. 26 FEBRUARY 2018 Plastics Technology PTonline.com A U T O M AT I O N Close -Up On Technolog y

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