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INSIGHT The term "material handling" covers a lot of ground in the world of robotics: tiny workpieces that people can't handle very well, if at all; large, heavy parts like engine blocks and wheels; bulky items like bags and boxes; delicate and expensive electronic components; medical equipment. The list is extensive. Robotic material-handling applications range from tending injection-molding machines and machine tools, to reorienting parts between processes, to packaging and palletizing. 2001 was a tough year for the robotics industry (robot orders were down 30 percent from 2000), but material-handling and arc- welding robots suffered less of a decline than others, and material handling of products greater than 10 pounds was the largest application area for robotics in the first half. "These particular applications (material handling and arc welding) could be poised for strong growth once the market turns upward," said Don Vincent, executive vice president of the Robotic Industries Association, the industry trade group. Far-sighted CEOs might also see a slow economy as the time to switch to robotics for material-handling operations. Even with a higher unemployment rate, hiring people to stack boxes all day, for example, can be a difficult and time-- consuming proposition in many parts of the country. "If the economy is slow and you have to let go of employees, you may not be able to get them back," said Bob Rochelle, an account manager for Kawasaki Robotics. "With a robot, if the economy is slow, you just have to shut it off and you don't have to pay unemployment." But it can be difficult to justify capital investments when business is down. "In slow times, some people just won't spend money," said Rick Goode, general manager of Columbia/Okura LLC, which specializes in robotic palletizing applications. "Other companies are more foresighted. They look for ways to be more competitive and robotic technology helps them do that. When the economy slowed down, we had some clients who said they were automating because the payback is fast. In boom times or slow times, when there's a good payback, the company is going to be more competitive and make more money." Maintaining a competitive edge and making more money are certainly benefits of using robotic systems for material-handling tasks. Higher throughput and product quality also qualify as direct benefits. "The chief benefit in material handling is that robots are consistent throughout the entire shift," said John Lindemuth, an account manager for KUKA Robotics. "Second, in terms of worker fatigue and injury, robotics works very well to save costs worker liability issues. Third, there's a lot less potential for part damage." Minimizing part damage is important with heavy-duty metal parts and boxes, certainly, but that benefit is even more crucial when the parts are delicate and easy to damage. "Some materials required to handle are easily breakable, such as glass, cookies and laser diodes, and a human can't handle many of them delicately enough," said Michael Ferrara, general manager of the Factory Automation/Robotics Division of Epson America. Some materials also are too small (those in the fiber-optic assembly industry, for example) for people to handle effectively or fast enough for required cycle times. "In one application, our robots are handling laser diodes that are so small, you can barely see them," Ferrara said. "When we got the request, I went out to look at the process, and I had to ask where the part was." The task of moving parts around all day presents ergonomic challenges, as well. With large, heavy parts, people always have the potential for injury from repetitive stress, back injuries or simply dropping the part. "We looked at one job of handling bags of drywall compounds," Rochelle said. "The compound was in 25-- pound sacks; imagine moving those for eight hours a day." And moving any part or carton the same way every day can be an invitation to repetitive stress injuries. Robots are used today to handle a multitude of materials. Here, a KUKA robot handles molten steel in a foundry, keeping workers safer in a hazardous environment. People are also prone to making mistakes, which is why robots are being used more and more in laboratories and semiconductor fabs, where a mistake can cost millions of dollars, and in pharmaceutical applications (drug dispensing, for example). In packaging and palletizing, growing applications in robotic material handling, the trend toward multiple or unusual packaging options and mixed-case palletizing has helped convince companies that robotic systems make sense. "We've worked with warehouse people who have told us that the marketing department changed packaging and it won't work with their distribution system," Goode said. "Robots are flexible and easy to adjust to meet those kinds of changing needs. Robotics is a solution responding to the market driving the different packaging. In the past, you had one type of container and one big palletizing machine, and that worked fine. Now, a customer might want 15 sizes and 15 colors, and that's hard to do with traditional palletizing machines." Experienced users of robotics already know the process for choosing and purchasing a new robotic system. Those thinking of making the switch to robotics for material-- handling application, or any application, should take their time in the process. "It's important to evaluate robotics from the outside in:' Lindemuth said. "Start with marketing information and really read and study and understand what the documentation says. Then pick three companies, visit them and ask questions. And keep a spreadsheet of answers. Then reassemble the data, get a team together to discuss it and make an informed decision. Robotics is something that, if it works well, the purchasing engineer won't hear the good news. But if it doesn't work well, or the customer bought something inappropriate, they'll hear about it." Did you find this material interesting? Do you want more information of this type? Comment via FEEDBACK
Source: Robotics World , By Rob Spencer Editor Copyright Douglas Publications, Inc. May 2002, released June 2002
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