Productivity and Quality Evaluation in Assembly Using Collaborative Robots
Abstract
In Industry 4.0, various technologies have been applied to achieve automation for traditional manufacturing and practices. For this reason, Smart Manufacturing (SM) environments utilize collaborative robots for process optimization by integrating the Internet of Things (IoT). Cobots are equipped with sensors and/or other devices to be able to transmit data in real-time while performing their tasks. Consequently, such SM implementations improves the decision making and business development, such as supply chain and operations, by sharing real-time data from a plant operational level. The collaborative robots are also designed to safely interact and collaborate with humans to perform tasks and optimize a wide variety of tasks. In this research, a manufacturing station equipped with a cobot, camera/gripper end-effector, pneumatic piston, inspection camera, and linear actuators, was utilized to analyze the productivity and quality aspects of a four-piece assembly process using a camera-guided setup and coordinate-guided setup. This station allowed us to demonstrate how Industry 4.0 technologies could potentially be deployed in small and medium industrial setups and maximize its applications on assembly processes. The main variable for this experiment was the robot speed setting in the assembly (50%, 75%, and 100% of the robot capacity). The effects of the experimental variable on the failure rate, including components that caused the failure, were documented. The results showed that in the conditions of the experiment the camera did not perform as accurate to determine it was the best option. There are modifications and improvements to make in the equipment, such as verifying that the equipment has the technical requirements, to make these technologies suitable for this process and maximize its benefits. In the meantime, the coordinate-guided setup proves to be an efficient way to temporarily perform the process since it was the configuration that show that highest quality and greater productivity rate.
Subject Area
Industrial engineering|Robotics
Recommended Citation
Manzanares Vega, Carlos Felipe, "Productivity and Quality Evaluation in Assembly Using Collaborative Robots" (2022). ETD Collection for University of Texas, El Paso. AAI30241115.
https://scholarworks.utep.edu/dissertations/AAI30241115