Integrating cobots has become increasingly popular for all kinds of industries and within companies of all sizes. The great advantage of cobots over traditional industrial robots is that they are much easier to deploy and are equipped for a wider range of applications.
Cobot integration, in most cases, is relatively straightforward. While there is a growing understanding that cobots are easy to program and can quickly enable collaborative working, there may still be questions about how best to install them.
Cobots vary in design, but they all feature a combination of technologies that enable them to function safely alongside humans in a shared space. This makes them different from industrial robots that operate autonomously, frequently at very high speeds, inside a safeguarded area.
Cobots do not require redesigning the whole process from scratch and they can be integrated into your existing set-up. They are highly versatile and the range is expanding all the time. You can find cobots that are ideal for simple and fast work cycles, and those which are more complex with high-control technology.
Easy set-up
The longer integrating automation takes, the more expensive the initial investment can get. Higher staff costs, production stops and the need to bring in external services can add time and increase costs, meaning it takes longer to see any kind of return on the investment. If you are a small or medium-sized company this can make automation impractical.
Cobots overcome this problem by having a short-deployment time. They often come with out-of-the-box functionality, with pre-programming software enabling them to be set up in less than 30 minutes.
Cobots will usually have six or seven axes and are easy to program. Cobot designers are working to enable operators to easily acquire the necessary skills and knowledge to set up and program them. Some cobots even have hand guiding features, allowing the cobot to learn by example while being guided through the sequence of movements required to complete the task it’s being programmed for.
Cobots are flexible
Another aspect of cobot technology that makes integration relatively easy is its flexibility. Programming a cobot for a new task is simple and external services are rarely needed. This introduces greater versatility into the production process and the cobot can easily be set up to do a sequence of different tasks on the same day or have designated days for different tasks.
Cobots can easily be integrated into agile systems since they allow the staff to quickly respond to design changes and redeploy the cobot accordingly. The cobots that are currently on the market can fill an extensive range of different roles.
Quick productivity returns
Because cobot integration is quick and relatively straightforward it can provide quick productivity returns. They can take over a process where a human worker may have trouble maintaining focus or keeping the output at a consistent level over a long period of time.
Cobots make it easy for companies to quickly automate key processes.
Contact Indeva to learn more about how Indeva cobots can transform and streamline your material handling processes.