What are the most important steps to deploying a robot in your manufacturing process?

If this is your first foray into robotics DON'T start trying to automate your hardest problem first. There is plenty of ROI in starting with simpler tasks, which are easier to automate. And much less is likely to go wrong. Build up your experience in seeing how to benefit from robotics. Once you've deployed one or two robots successfully, your staff will start pointing you to new use cases.

Follow the three P’s PEOPLE. PROCESS. PRODUCT. Always in that order. First go down to the floor and talk to your frontline workers. Your PEOPLE should be the first step. Find out what works well. What is frustrating or painful or challenging. Then look at your PROCESS. If the upstream material is bad you’ll only make bad parts faster with automation. Don’t rely on the work instructions or documents. I guarantee there are minimum two important invisible steps the workers are doing that aren’t there. Then once you’ve talked to the people, and analyzed your real processes. Only then can you start trying to figure out the right PRODUCT or technology solution.

In my opinion, if you are first time adopting robot into manufacturing processes. 1. Define objective of deploying robot. 2. Understand current process and the bottleneck with shop floor members. 3. Understand their needs. 4. Start with challenging but achievable process to gain confident to roll out.

In my vision, automation of manufacturing processes should be about the process itself. Are there better ways to obtain the results the process drives for? Traditionally processes are designed by humans for humans to handle. Automation changes this preconceived starting point. Which process/method delivers what we need, is the first question to ask.

In addition to identifying your pain points, don't forget to look at upstream and downstream processes, the workpieces involved, potential handoffs to human workers, and the production environment. I agree with Andra that it's better to start small and measure results. It's better for things to fail at an early stage than later in deployment.

Robot selection has many factors. But many decisions boil down to SPEED, REACH, & PAYLOAD. How fast? How big? How heavy? Start with documenting what you are trying to do. And I highly encourage you to find an integration partner who has automation experience. This will payback multifold for you. Some questions they might ask you: How many parts per minute? How many SKUs or types of parts? In what quantities? How heavy / big are the parts? How will we pick it up? What is coming into the process? What is the next process? How are you solving this today? What have you tried to improve this in the past? How close will people need to be to the process?

If you own a small business, the Section 179 deduction is one of the most essential tax codes you need to be familiar with. It lets you deduct all or part of the cost of robotic equipment purchased or financed and put into place before December 31, 2023.

The mechanical shape of the robot is the easy part of the solution. Hard questions for the solution are: the process end-effector choice, the sensors to support the process, the software intelligence to support the integral control of the process and the robot, etc.

Also, see what other businesses are using to solve similar problems. In many cases, you don't need to reinvent the wheel -- it's just combining or applying existing technologies to solve your particular problem.

-Before deploying a robot, it is important to know the exact problem you want to solve. - Following up after the installation is an important step that most companies fail to adhere to.

A basic error in each design to start with the technical components as available from a catalog and design a solution around it. A solution needs results not technology! Pushing technology is typically delivering no end-results and a main reason for distrust.

Don't forget safety assessments. What are the potential consequences and backups in case of equipment failure? Do you need redundancies? What kinds of payloads or motion are involved? Don't wait until later to determine compliance with regulations.

Multiple steps are needed: before the detail design a full simulation of the solution could be made with digital twin technology to understand the performance of the solution. After the detail design phase, a manufacturing design should be made based on the cad-model to understand the manufacturing possibilities. After assembly, based on the performance criteria a full set of testing should happen to qualify the solution for production.

In my opinion, the human-machine interface should be based on a through-and-through understanding of the skill level of the work force and fitting to the experience of the work force. Therefore, the training to use the robotic system as needed will be based on the system interaction as is expected. Virtual training including error-state simulation provides 'life' training.

"Deluding of Knowledge" comes to mind when training the use of a robot. For example, training is almost "perfect" on a robot that never "breaks-down"...until the robot breaks down. Was the "training" ever included of what to do when the robot broke down? If "break-down" issues were covered in the first class and not in the additional classes? People have a tendency to forget what was taught as time goes by. If "training" is sub-par, the work expected (will be sub-par), and the repairs to break-down issues (will also be sub-par). Refreshing the training schedule to be more frequent and with higher quality, will improve results...every time; and reduce the "Deluding of Knowledge" issue that people can have.

To optimize a robot's performance in manufacturing, track key metrics like output rate for productivity, conduct quality checks for precision, and compare resource usage for efficiency. Monitor safety improvements through reduced accidents. Evaluate customer feedback on product quality for customer satisfaction. Regularly adjust operational settings, maintain the robot, and update its software for security and compatibility. If data shows slow task performance, consider software or hardware upgrades. Align these improvements with long-term goals such as production scalability or advanced automation integration.

If you require active robot correction, datum updating and verification, then you require a robot guidance system, like IONA. 24/7 monitoring and process feedback will allow you to collect metrology grade data and analyze your robots performance. This will give you greater autonomy, enhanced flexibility and improved robot performance.

I think the most critical aspect of deploying a robot has less to do with the mechanical side but is more focused on the ownership of the customer / end user. Designating a stakeholder to own the project to see it successfully installed and running along with making sure it has focused resources is huge.

1. Assess manufacturing needs. 2. Select the right robot and end-effector. 3. Plan integration and safety measures. 4. Program, test, and optimize robot performance. 5. Train the workforce. 6. Monitor and maintain the robot. 7. Ensure compliance with regulations.

An automation/robotic solution provides opportunities to deliver strategic value in business goals, but also i.e. for environmental or health objectives. A value analysis for leadership should start the discussion on automation solutions. To prove the solution, a digital-twin simulation should show the expected results.