TKI 4303

Industrial Robotics
Lesson 4
Integrating Robots Into the
Manufacturing Process

INDT 4303 Industrial Robotics

You Know What Happens
When You Assume

• In the past, companies have falsely assumed

that a robot could be plugged into the
production system without any changes in
engineering or production design

INDT 4303 Industrial Robotics

Integrating Robots into the
Manufacturing Process
• Design for Manufacturability (DFM) – refers
to an engineering method of creating a part or
tool with a design-first focus, enabling a final
product that is more efficient and cheaper to
produce.
• Taking a DFM approach enables engineers and
designers to create, iterate, simplify and
optimize parts before they are made, making
the entire manufacturing process more efficient.

INDT 4303 Industrial Robotics

How Does DFM Work?
• The DFM process works by examining 5 key
principles:
– Process
– Design
– Material
– Environment
– Compliance
• This enables designers and engineers to create
custom components that are easier and more cost-
effective to manufacture.

INDT 4303 Industrial Robotics

Process
• For DFM to be most effective, you must be sure
that you’re using the right manufacturing process
for any given project.
– Example: Will your project be high volume or low
volume?
• The manufacturing process you choose will
have a great effect on the final cost and
efficiency of your project, so be sure to factor in
details, such as:
– materials needed - part quantity
– properties of the parts or tools that will be created to
help you choose the one that best fits your needs
INDT 4303 Industrial Robotics
Design
• Once you have chosen a manufacturing
process, you can begin designing the actual
part you will produce.
• It’s also important to note that, as a rule, DFM
operates on a “the simpler, the better”
philosophy. Obviously, not every design can be
extremely simple, but the more complex a
design, the riskier it becomes to produce.
• Some designs may fail in the manufacturing
process or be so complex that your overall
costs get significantly higher.
INDT 4303 Industrial Robotics
Material
• The right material for your project should be
considered when examining the overall
manufacturing

• You should take time to take an in-depth look at

the properties your part will need.
– Heat resistance, water resistance, strength,
flexibility – the exact properties will depend on the
application and use of the final part.

INDT 4303 Industrial Robotics

Environment
• Environmental factors will greatly affect the
design of the part you intend to create. Will the
final product be subjected to a great deal of
stress or force, as you might expect in an
industrial environment? Or will it be used in an
office? Basically, you need to consider where
and how your parts will be used.

• This DFM principle ensures that your part or

product can function properly in its intended
environment over an optimal lifespan.
INDT 4303 Industrial Robotics
Compliance and Testing

• Your parts may need to adhere to industry-

specific, internal and/or third-party standards.
– For example: If your components will be used in an
environment in which food is present, your product
must comply with all food-safe standards and
regulations.
• Consider all standards, and plan for testing to
ensure that these standards are met, during the
DFM process.

INDT 4303 Industrial Robotics

Other factors to be Considered
• Number of Parts
• Product or Design Complexity
• Material and Component Availability
• Design Reusability
• Aesthetics

• A successful DFM analysis should give you a

design that is optimized for production, giving
you increased efficiency without sacrificing the
value of your parts and products.
INDT 4303 Industrial Robotics
What changes do we make?
• First engineering must decide which parts of the
product can be assembled by robots, and which
need human assembly or dedicated equipment
– Dedicated equipment – a machine that performs
only one function

• Next design or redesign the parts of the product

for ease of robotic assembly

INDT 4303 Industrial Robotics

Designing for Robot Assembly
• Minimize number of parts to reduce complexity

• Reduce directions of approach required to assemble the

product

• Minimize number of obstructions so robot can work in straight

line

• Use subassemblies with components that stack on top of each

other or that can be assembled in sequence using downward
motion

• Make parts as symmetrical as possible so they can be

assembled correctly

INDT 4303 Industrial Robotics

Designing for Robot Assembly
• Add chamfers, guide pins, ridges, and other physical
characteristics that allow the robot to lock part into its
proper location

• Simplify fastening by using tabs, snaps or other

methods that allow parts to be joined in one motion
– Eliminate screws, springs, and adjustments

• Avoid compressible parts, such as wires, foils, or foam

• Give parts common features

INDT 4303 Industrial Robotics

When is a robot the right choice?
• Two main areas in which a robot is not suited:

– Robots should not be used for long, high-speed

runs producing many identical items
• Dedicated machinery is better suited

– Robots should not be used for short, complex tasks

that require a high-level of hand-eye coordination
• These jobs are still best suited for human workers
• Custom work

iNDT 4303 Industrial Robotics

So you need a robot?
• What factors do you need to consider when
purchasing a robot?
– Number of Axes
– Work envelope
– Resolution
– Accuracy
– Repeatability
– Operational speed
– Load capacity or Payload
– Brakes and inertia
– IP Rating
INDT 4303 Industrial Robotics
Factors in Choosing a Robot
• Number of Axes
– Pick and place application
• A simple 4 axis robot is enough
– If your application needs to be executed in a small
work space and the robot arm needs to twist and
turn a lot
• A 6 or 7 axis robot would be the best option
– The number of axes is generally dependent on the
application

INDT 4303 Industrial Robotics

Factors in Choosing a Robot
• Work Envelope
– Know what maximum distance the robot needs to
reach
– Maximum vertical reach for a robot is measured
from the lowest point that the robot can reach (often
under the robot base) to the maximum height that
the wrist, not the EOT, can go
– Maximum horizontal reach is the distance from the
center of the robot base to the farthest point the
wrist can reach horizontally
– Consider any obstacles in the area

INDT 4303 Industrial Robotics

Other Measures of Performance
• Resolution
– determined by the robot’s control system
– Deals with precision, or the smallest incremental
movement that robot can make
– Can be described as the smallest segment into
which the work space can be divided
– Command resolution is calculated by dividing the
travel distance of each joint by the number of
control increments
– Slippage – inaccuracies due to mechanical
components (wear, stretching, or backlash)
– Spatial resolution – takes into account command
resolution and mechanical inaccuracy
INDT 4303 Industrial Robotics
Other Measures of Performance
• Accuracy
– Expresses how closely the robot’s hand can be
programmed to hit a desired point
– Accuracy & spatial resolution are by-products of
command resolution & mechanical inaccuracies
– Can be expressed as half the spatial resolution
– Large robots with payloads of 100 lbs. or more have
an average accuracy of ±0.050 in.
– Small robots used for such tasks as assembly
operations have average accuracies of ±0.002 in.
– Accuracy can be affected by speed of movement &
weight of payload

INDT 4303 Industrial Robotics

Other Measures of Performance
• Repeatability
– Often confused with accuracy
– Even though both are dependent upon spatial
resolution & mechanical inaccuracies there is a
difference
– Repeatability expresses how close a robots hand
will actually return to the same position time & time
again
– Good repeatability is desired more than accuracy;
this because inaccuracies can be corrected
– Repeatability can change with use

INDT 4303 Industrial Robotics

Other Measures of Performance
• Operational Speed
– Also called dynamic performance, has to do with how fast
the robot can accelerate, decelerate, and stop at any given
point
– Two factors that influence operational speed most are
desired accuracy & the payload
– Other factors are robot configuration & location of the tool in
the work envelope
– Manufacturers define speed in different ways
– A robot’s actions often are no faster than those of a human;
sometimes they are slower
– Most users want to know how fast they can move through
the total cycle keeping the desired accuracy & repeatability

INDT 4303 Industrial Robotics

Other Measures of Performance
• Load capacity
– Payload is the maximum amount of weight or mass
of material a robot is capable of handling on a
continuous basis
– End effector weight must be included in that total
– Two main factors affecting load capacity are the
type of configuration & the placement of the end
effector in the work envelope
– The robot’s load-handling capability is less with its
boom fully extended than when the boom is
retracted

INDT 4303 Industrial Robotics

Other Measures of Performance
• Brakes and Inertia
– Each robot manufacturer provides information on
the braking system on their robot

– Some of robots have brakes on all axes and others

don’t

– The inertia of certain robot segments can be

provided by the manufacturer

INDT 4303 Industrial Robotics

Other Measures of Performance
• IP Rating
– IP = Ingress Protection

– Different applications will have different IP ratings

– Some manufacturers provide the same robot with

different IP ratings

INDT 4303 Industrial Robotics

IP Ratings
• Example: IP65 (NEMA 4)
The two digits represent different forms of environmental influence:
1st digit represents protection against ingress of solid objects.
2nd digit represents protection against ingress of liquids.
First digit: Second digit:
IP.. Ingress of solid objects Ingress of liquids
0 No protection No protection

1 Protection against solid objects over 50mm e.g. hands, large tools Protected against vertically falling drops of water or condensation

2 Protection against solid objects over 12.5mm e.g. hands, large Protected against falling drops of water, if the case is disposed up
tools to 15 from vertical
3 Protection against solid objects over 2.5mm e.g. wire, small tools Protected against sprays of water from any direction, even if the
case is disposed up to 60 from vertical
4 Protection against solid objects over 1mm e.g. wires Protected against splash water from any direction

5 Limited protection against dust ingress (no harmful deposit) Protected against low pressure water jets from any direction.
Limited ingress permitted
6 Totally protected against dust ingress Protected against high pressure water jets from any direction.
Limited ingress permitted
7 N/A Protected against short periods of immersion in water

8 N/A Protected against long, durable periods of immersion in water

9k N/A Protected against close-range high pressure, high temperature

spray downs
TKI 4303 Industrial Robotics
Robotic Safety Considerations
• Robots differ from other machinery because of
their degrees of freedom & often large work
envelopes

• Safety issues should be considered during all of

the following stages; Design, installation,
maintenance, & operation

INDT 4303 Industrial Robotics

General Safety Guidelines
• Know the size & shape • Do not forget to include
of the work envelope the end effector when
• Know methods of motion determining the work
control being used envelope
• Know the limits for a • Safety interlocks should
safe payload be used whenever
• Know the range of possible
operating speeds • Two-step procedures for
• If possible, all pinch resuming operation after
points should be omitted a shutdown
• Have adequate barriers • The design should be
documented

4303 Industrial Robotics

Robot Application Mistakes
• Underestimating Payload and Inertia Requirements
– Failure to include end-of-arm tooling in payload
– Underestimating inertia forces generated by off-center
payloads
• Trying to do too much with the robot
– Make work cell too complex
• Underestimating Cable Management Issues
– Optimizing cable routing to end-of-arm tooling or peripheral
devices is crucial for unrestricted movement of the robot
• Misunderstanding Accuracy vs. Repeatability

INDT 4303 Industrial Robotics

Robot Application Mistakes
• Choosing a Robot Based Solely on the Control
System
– Familiarity with a control system or software should not be
the sole reason for selecting a robot, hardware matters
• Failure to Accept Robotics Technology
– Uptime of production equipment is directly related to how
well users understand the equipment and their ability to
maintain the equipment
• Choosing a Robot Solely On Price
• Believing There is a Perfect Robotics System

INDT 4303 Industrial Robotics