Industrial Robots and Factory Automation
Industrial robots can have
many applications in factory automation.
If the automation of your process or factory requires an industrial robot,
there are many different types of robots. For the sake of clarity, let us define
the type of robots referred to in these pages:
- Pick and Place
Units.
These units are the least expensive of all the types of robot automation. They
have fixed, non-freely programmable axes, i.e. the path that the unit will
follow, will be constant and only adjustable, by stopping the system and making a
mechanical adjustment. Compressed air is the power source.
- The Scara Robot.
These are the simplest of the programmable robots. Generally 4-servo driven axis
are used and many are utilized in the field of
manufacturing automation.
- Robot
arms
In the field of factory automation, robot arms or the 6-axis
servo robot is probably the most
recognized.
Typically as shown in the photograph above. They are available in a wide range
of work envelopes and have many payload capabilities. All 6-axis are freely programmable and thus offer the most flexibility. They can be used for a very
wide range of applications-from spray painting to welding to palletizing. Of course, being the most complex of the robot types, they are also the most
expensive, however, considering what you get, they are terrific value for the money!
- The Gantry Robot.
These can be air or servo driven, therefore fixed or freely programmable. (Guess
which is the least expensive!) They are Cartesian in layout (i.e. straight line
X-Y-Z motion) and generally used for material handling.
For information on many other kinds of
robots, I
recommend you visit this site
http://www.allonrobots.com/index.html Here you will discover facts
regarding medical, military and household robots, as well as many others. You
can even find info on how to build your own robot!
For more information on Industrial Robots, as used for welding, click here
For information on
the robotic hand or End-Of-Arm-Tooling (E.O.A.T.) -click here
Return to home page-"FACTORY
AUTOMATION"- click here.
