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Looking at collaborative robots in metal stamping and fabrication shop

TMP

Plastic
Joined
Oct 3, 2012
Location
MN, USA
We are looking into (planning on adding some soon) adding collaborative robots in our metal stamping and machining departments. What are some of the issues with either use people have run into? Is coolant an issue even with the protective covers they sell for them (wouldn't actually be in the cnc spray)? Can they handle the vibrations generated from metal stamping like the sales guys say they can?

Looking for insight from current and past users regardless of the brand right now.
 
Universal robots, no need for shielding or safety covers:-)

Fanuc robots, fast as hell, but needs to be in a cage or something, doesn't stop if anything is in the way!

Worked with universal robots at another job I had, but we used it for teaching. Really easy to set up and get working!

Cheers, Daniel
 
Are Universal Robots willing to put their sales staff into the path of a customer-programmed robot yet? Has OSHA "caught up" and given them their blessing to run uncaged? I haven't looked at the situation since last year, but at that time the answer was no and no.

Baxter is a sad joke. Who else is making purportedly collaborative robots yet? They'll eventually work, but IMHO Universal are at the moment an accident waiting to happen.
 
The robot my co workers were complaining about was a Universal Robotics UR5. They don't run it in a cage.

From what I've heard they're very easy to program and relatively inexpensive.
 
Fanuc makes collaborative robots now. They're green. Have a few sizes from the LR Mate to the M-20 size now. I think these would be a good option if you're already using Fanuc since they program the same. BUT, from what I'm told, they're currently around 30-50% more than a yellow robot. You obviously don't need to buy fencing, but they're still more than a yellow robot with fencing/guarding.

I think Universal has a fully baked system by this point, just don't know how robust they are when compared to Fanuc. When you're dealing with very demanding industrial processes, like what you're describing, I would personally rather have the Fanuc arm that's probably twice the weight of the comparable UR. But hey, maybe the UR's are really quite nice, and would do just fine.

The other thing to consider is using light curtains or area sensors with a yellow robot. You can get the feel of a collaborative by having a nice open setting where the operator can walk in, but still have the speed of the fenced system.

Good luck,
E
 
We started using ABB robots in 1987, some were in one of the press shops not very far from 2,500 ton double action presses and never had any problems running them.
 








 
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