Robotic Arms & Industries
Robotic arms are projected to take over 70% of all labor processes within the next seven years. This is why it’s so important to understand what robotic arms can do for your business and industry. Recognizing the importance of implementing robotic arm processes is imperative if you want to be one step ahead of the competition. Let’s begin by going over what exactly robotic arms are. You might realize that the arms are not as complicated as you anticipated. Plus, they offer more benefits than many business owners expect.
What Are Robotic Arms?
Robotic arms were created decades ago to assist organizations with a variety of manufacturing processes. As you may know, many of these processes are dangerous, repetitive, and require heavy lifting. That’s why robots are superior to humans when it comes to working under harsh conditions. They do the work that humans either can’t do or don’t want to do. In fact, do you know where the term “robot” comes from? It originates from “robota,” which is a word in the Czech language. “Robota” means “forced labor” in Czech. Of course, it would be horrible to force a human to do labor. But that’s not an issue with robotic arms. They have no problem doing heavy lifting around the clock. Plus, they do not require a salary and benefits. This leads to companies that use robotic arms saving millions of dollars in the long-run.
Robotic arms are the most popular form of manufacturing robot on the planet. Your average robotic arm has six joints that connect seven pieces of metal. A computer system can control the robotic arms. How so? By rotating separate step motors that are wired to each of the arm’s joints. But keep in mind that some huge robotic arms depend on pneumatics or hydraulics.
Your average non-robotic motor is incapable of moving in specific increments. But not robotic arms. They are more accurate and precise. That accuracy is due to the step motors having the capability to move in any increment that an organization needs. Step motors matter because they contribute to the precision process of computers. This is how robotic arms are able to repeat exact movements as often as a human operator needs them to. Robotic arms can even make sure that they continue to move to an operator’s exact specifications. This is because the modern robot is equipped with advanced motion sensors.
6 Degrees of Freedom: How Robotic Arms Operate
You might notice that most robotic arms look like human arms. This is because each arm is constructed with six joints. The joints hold in place an industrial robot’s wrist, elbow, and shoulder. Robotic shoulders are very rarely attached to a moveable body. Instead, each shoulder mounts onto the structure of a stationary base. This allows each robotic arm to have six degrees of freedom. What does this mean? It refers to robots being able to pivot in six unique ways. Humans, on the other hand, can pivot with seven degrees of freedom. Sure, a robotic arm lacks one degree of freedom. But it makes up for that lost degree with other positive factors such as strength and accuracy.
A human can move his or her hand from one place to another. Likewise, a robotic arm can move end effectors place-to-place. This concept allows organizations to attach many different types of end effectors to standard robotic arms. Each effector can adjust applications in a unique way. What’s an example of a common end effector? It is a simple version of the human hand. Like a human hand, this robotic end effector can grasp and move any object that it needs to. The modern robotic hand possesses pressure sensors. These sensors allow the robot arm’s computer to interpret the exact degree of gripping pressure that the robot is applying toward any object. The pressure sensors serve a crucial benefit. They prevent robot arms from breaking or dropping objects they are moving. There are three other common forms of end effectors:
-spray painters
-drills
-blowtorches
This advanced industrial robotic technology, combined with repetitive processes, enables robotic arms to do the same task thousands of times per day. Here is an example. Have you purchased a jar of peanut butter or jelly in the last few years? If so, chances are that a robot was responsible for twisting the cap onto your jar as it made its way down the assembly line. You might be wondering how robots know how to do their jobs with such efficiency. Well, someone has to teach each robot to do its job well. And that person is a programmer.
Programmers are responsible for guiding every robotic arm. They do so by using a handheld controller to get an arm to move in specific motions. The modern robot is advanced enough that it can remember programmed sequences of movement. It stores each sequence within its memory storage. That is how robots can perform the same task over and over again in workplace environments such as factories and assembly lines.
The 7 Types of Robotic Arms That Could Benefit Your Organization
Below are the seven most common types of robotic arms. The specific arm that you will need for your business depends on factors such as what you envision the robots doing and what industry they will contribute to. Consider how these robotic arms could benefit your future business operations.
1) The Gantry Robotic Arm/Cartesian Robotic Arm
This type of robotic arm is very common. It is often used for the following processes:
-Arc welding
-Pick and place operations
-Handling many different machine tools
-Applying sealant
-Many different assembly processes
The gantry robot/Cartesian robot features three prismatic joints on each arm. The axes work in harmony with the Cartesian coordinator.
2) The Cylindrical Robotic Arm
A cylindrical robotic arm has four primary uses for most organizations:
-Handling diecasting machines
-Contributing to assembly operations
-Doing spot welding
-Handling many different machine tools
What makes this robotic arm so unique? The bot’s axes create an advanced cylindrical coordinate system.
3) The Polar Robotic Arm/Spherical Robotic Arm
Here are the main functions of this robotic arm:
-Spot welding
-Arc welding
-Gas welding
-Handling many different machine tools
-Die-casting
-Cleaning the rough edges of machines and parts
As you can see, the polar robotic arm and spherical robotic arm has many similarities to the gantry and Cartesian robotic arm. So, what is the big difference? The polar/spherical arm creates a polar coordinate system thanks to the unique axes.
4) The SCARA Robotic Arm
This robotic arm has four main functions that benefit organizations across different industries:
-Handling a variety of machine tools
-Pick and place operations
-Many different assembly processes
-Applying sealant
This SCARA robotic arm has no trouble maintaining compliance within each place. That’s because the arm features dual rotary joints that are parallel.
5) The Articulated Robotic Arm
This is another robotic arm that contributes to industrial processes across many industries:
-Spray painting
-Assembling
-Arc welding
-Gas welding
-Fettling machines
-Die-casting
You can spot this form of robotic arm with ease due to each arm having at least three rotary joints.
6) The Parallel Robotic Arm
Parallel robotic arms are currently limited in what they can do. Their only main use at the moment is to serve as a mobile platform. This allows the parallel robotic arm to perform many responsibilities in cockpit flight simulators. The arms can feature either rotary joints or parallel prismatic joints.
7) The Anthropomorphic Robotic Arm
This type of robotic arm looks the most similar to that of a human hand. That is because each anthropomorphic robot’s hand has a thumb and separate fingers. As technology continues to evolve, look for this robotic arm to become more popular due to having more operations that it can contribute to.
The Industries Where Robotic Arms Are Used
As you might have inferred from the previous section, the majority of robotic arms are used in car assembly lines. In fact, robotic arms have become the gold standard for piecing cars together. But do not assume that robotic arms are only going to benefit car companies in the coming years. As we mentioned earlier, 70% of labor processes will go toward robotic arms in the next seven years. In other words, many industries are going to get affected. That’s why the time to consider implementing robotic arms into your business is now. Otherwise, you risk letting your competitors get ahead of you.
The precision of robotic arms is a game-changer for companies conducting any sort of manufacturing process. That precision leads to much greater efficiency than the robot’s human co-workers. For example, no matter what your business specializes in, you can count on robotic arms to always drill into specific places. Or, say you need bolts in a product tightened fast. A robotic arm uses a certain amount of force to tighten bolts 100% of the time. This leads to producing superior products compared to companies that use human workers for industrial tasks. Let’s use the computer industry as another example. Manufacturing robots have been a total game-changer for the computer industry in the last few decades. How so? Manufacturing robotic arms have more precision than humans. The precise hands of a robotic arm can assemble very small microchips in a short amount of time.
Here’s another example of an industry that depends on robotic arms. It is the medical manufacturing industry. Many surgical operations require laser incisions to be exact. The precision-level of the robotic arms ensures that laser incision processes avoid costly and dangerous mistakes. But that’s not all that these medical manufacturing robots can do. They also help produce medicine and vials. This is important because humans can sometimes contaminate both medicine and vials.
In fact, the concept of contamination-prevention also applies to the food production industry. Corporations in that industry are benefiting by not having humans standing close to food and beverages. Not to mention, automation also prevents human-caused errors from occurring. That’s why more and more industries are starting to demand the use of robotic arms. They carry too many long-term benefits, both practical and financial, to ignore. Manufacturing processes within any industry will soon never be the same. The robotic arms are here to stay. In the near future, every type of manufacturing factory on the planet will use robotic arms.
Conclusion: Robotic Arms Will Benefit Companies Across Many Industries
Robotic arms do more than benefit operational processes such as assembling and manufacturing. They benefit companies by boosting their ROI and profit margins over time. That’s why the sooner you implement robotic arms into your business, the more likely you’ll be to maintain long-term success. If you’d like to learn more about how robotic arms can benefit your operations, please contact Robotics of America today. Our team of robotics experts will assess your business needs and help you find the right robotic solution. Also, if you have any questions about related robot topics such as the ones listed below, give us a call right now. We look forward to guiding you toward a prosperous economic future thanks to the amazing capabilities of robotic arms.
-Types of robotic arms
-Robotic arm kit
-How do robot arms work?
-The robotic hand
-Robotic arms for sale
-Robotic arm DIY guide
