The Use of Robots in Manufacturing - Admission/Application Essay Example

Robots In Manufacturing Introduction The competitive environment for manufacturers today has necessitated it for themto be more productive, efficient and dynamic. Since customers are the ultimate stakeholder, all businesses are moving towards meeting their expectations and fulfilling their satisfaction by adopting automated manufacturing to improve in quality cost and timeliness aspects. Moreover, equipment deployed by business in manufacturing processes and operations need to be efficiently utilized to their maximum capacity to enhance profitability. This has been made possible through usage of robots for handling, running and managing machinery, tools and equipments (Mathur et al., pp. 77). Hundreds of enterprises have succeeded in their business by switching to automated manufacturing to avail its benefits and exploit new opportunities and horizons (Papakostas et al., 650). This paper entails the application of robots in manufacturing industries and benefits derived from it. It also explains the limitations and loopholes where automation doesn’t prove to be saving grace for a business. With references to practical examples, opinions illustrated by scholarly articles in this regard and modern business automated practices, this report is intended to summarize the findings and conclusions that have been drawn from this entire research study. Need for automation Manufacturing industries require customized automated systems to cater their voluminous needs. Robots are programmed with expert knowledge to be tailored and integrated for manufacturing system. They are put to best use when used as special-purpose machines in industries where long-batch monotonous processing is being followed to produce homogenous products, requiring no human intervention or technical intelligence. However, it gets complicated when manufacturing requires integration of large number of heterogeneous techniques. Such integration is a challenge since conventional automation where normative models are used to program robots proves out to be inadequate. To combat this, modern robots were built supporting standardization, modularization and vertical and horizontal integration. Nonetheless, for simpler small-scale processing plants, current developments in robots and their support for system integration are sufficient to facilitate tasks like assembling, machining and straightforward decision-making which do not exhibit substantial deviations between actual and modeled behavior as that might require human intelligence (Bjorkelund et al., 9). Automated systems are not only capable of supporting small batch cycles but also result in significant reduction of unit costs and batch costs. Thus the technology would help facilitate the just-in-time manufacturing objectives being demanded in virtually every industry that produces potentially customizable products. Usage of robots becomes source of reduction in time taken to produce customized goods, thereby making it possible for organization to adopt and benefit from just-in-time inventory maintenance and production methodology. Manufacturing productivity is enhanced through automation since it enables the elimination of bottle-necks in production runs, making life cycles of products shorter. Process scheduling becomes more efficient through automation through enhanced control over production systems. Another viewpoint for this aspect is enhancement of satisfaction of customers through timely deliveries, accurate quotations and economical pricing routed via cost reduction (Bourne, Corney & Gupta, 19-20). Role of robots in modern world In chronological sequence, the first generation machines were developed using artificial intelligence technology where robots were given limited capabilities to carry out cognitive processing and decision-making as that by humans. Attributes for different parts and technical manufacturing knowledge were programmed into robots, enabling them to make planning decisions based on identification of different variables and benchmarking them against programmed master data. Later, robots were created through physics-based modeling to be able to carry out selection and optimization of various process factors. Planning plays an essential role for manufacturing processes and therefore implementation of advanced robotics in this area was one of the core concerns of scientists in subsequent recent years. Acknowledging the fact that different manufacturing sectors have distinct needs for planning and problem-solving, machine-driven planning phenomenon came into being. This has proved to be one of most effective advancements in field of automation since it has facilitated initial planning stage of processes for hundreds of manufacturing concerns. In turn, this invention was possible due to radical developments in shop floor communications and powerful modern machines that could provide support system for this concept. A similar approach, namely volume-driven prototyping is more feasible for processes where a single universal plan is sufficient to aid manufacturing of all homogenous components regardless of their slightly differing attributes. As a pre-requisite for this approach to be adopted, advanced computing tools and latest technology hardware must be in place (Bourne, Corney & Gupta, 3-4). Computer-aided design One of the most common applications of automation in manufacturing industry entails the concept of geometric modeling. It refers to the use of comprehensive 3-dimensional models and artificial simulations to evaluate the feasibility of a certain process or product. Actual research and development on a prototype is very costly and might seem impracticable due to physical limitations. However, robotics made it possible through computer-aided designing tools to build virtual prototypes, test it under different circumstances and make frequent modifications without incurring extra costs, as shown in the diagram below. It also removes the need to manually define characteristics and dimensions of parts and replaces it with automated extraction of desired features directly from virtually built models. Computer-aided designing is a powerful and extensive technique, currently being used in for diversified purposes, including industries like automotive, construction and architecture, prosthetics and most critically important in aerospace. The most considerable part of computer-aided design is its compatibility with Computer Numerical Control (CNC) technology. CNC is a mechanism which is capable of controlling and operating, through a software program that is based on coded alphanumeric data, the movements, functionality and input parameters (on/off switches, velocity, physical accuracy) of a manufacturing machine. This means that once the design has been completed by expert, it shall be conveniently stored in softcopy form for later use and when appropriate stage comes, shall be converted to a form easily readable by CNC machines which provide possibility of generating a real physical sample or model based on a virtually designed prototype (Sanz Monge, pp. 9-10). (Sanz Monge, pp. 10) Human-robots collaboration It is worth mentioning that many scientists, still to date, belong to school of thought, which believes that skilled technicians play an integral part and cannot be equally replaced by machines. They strongly argue that cognitive capabilities of robots are far less than humans and cannot match them, atleast in today’s technological state. Therefore, they suggest that the optimal solution to enhancing maximum productivity in manufacturing industry is the collaboration of human capital and man-made capital. It is observed that robots in manual production setting, make an ideal scenario when are in close interaction with labor. The conventional extreme trends, whereby either industrial machines are kept isolated from manpower or otherwise work is completely carried out manually, are no longer acceptable in modern times: robots assist in manual production process and create synergetic effects for the business as a whole. Collaborative efforts of labor and machines have proved to be a source of increased efficiency of business processes for manufacturing organizations. This can be seen by taking example of FRIDA (as illustrated in the visual below), an aide robot that helps a mechanic by selecting the correct bolts and fasteners, rotating and tightening them and inserting them as instructed. ABB FRIDA robot – Wilcox et al., pp. 2. As a result, the human mechanic is able to keep his attention on prior and primary work, which requires his intelligence and expertise, without getting his attention divided and diverted to other clerical and repetitive tasks. Consequently, the overall task shall benefit through parallelization of tasks by saving time and enhanced productivity (Wilcox et al., 2). Example of injection molding Finally, we consider a short example where robots have been successfully applied in industrial world. Injection molding, process of making thermoplastic polymer components, is one of the most significant advancements enabled through automation. Its ability to produce parts with accurate finishing within short span of period, this process is appropriate for voluminous and bulky production quantities. (http://www.kenplas.com/imm/kpet32.JPG) Moreover, entities engaged in this process are pursuing further reduction in cycle periods by incorporating advanced automation, so that designing of an entire mold is just a click away, subsequent to completion of CAD model of the relevant parts. However, similar to CNC machine scenario, substantial number of obstacles must be overcome before making final decision including several technical and complex geometrical and optimization aspects. To differentiate their products, recently organizations in this industry have initiated usage of specialized molds with distinct features. As a result, focus in this field has radically shifted towards issues pertaining to automated specialized mold design. Now, automation has enabled construction of complex parts through introduction of multi-piece molds. Similarly, various processes involved in designing of mold, such as locating parting lines, creating mold pieces etc, have been supported through automated geometric algorithms. Thus, this complex and commonly used process in manufacturing has been conveniently automated to benefit enterprises working in this field and enabling them to launch creative methodologies and new products apart from those with basic features (Bourne, Corney & Gupta, 8-11). Conclusion Automation has revolutionized manufacturing industries by providing hardware, computer-aided design software and advanced techniques. Complex construction and designing processes are carried out within short period of time in a more controlled environment, by virtue of robotics. However, it is highly debatable topic whether automation must be promoted to work in isolation or with collaboration of human efforts. Masses argue that 100% complete automation has caused many manufacturing concerns to fail badly as processes couldn’t be optimally controlled by robots and soon business efficiency deteriorated and corporations collapsed. Without human interference, it is risky to be blindly dependent on accurate automated processing unsupervised and uncontrolled. Automation tends to backfire in many situations and therefore some human element is mandatory for ensuring that machines are working as planned and in direction that accomplishes corporate objectives successfully. It is still an enormous challenge for robotics industries to manufacture cognitive robotics that can match human intelligence, learning and judgment. Fully unstructured environments with autonomous control to machines are impracticable in today’s technological circumstances and some form of human interaction is pivotal to ensure smooth manufacturing operations. Nevertheless, several human instincts have been so far incorporated into robots such as learning curve enhancements, adaptability and intelligent contingency planning. It is therefore safe to conclude that full scale prototyping in real-time simulations is bringer technology closer to creation of most advanced forms of robots and in near future might be producing next generation of machines that may be able to perfectly replace man in manufacturing. References Bjorkelund, A., et al. "On the integration of skilled robot motions for productivity in manufacturing." Assembly and Manufacturing (ISAM), 2011 IEEE International Symposium on. IEEE, 2011. Bourne, David, Jonathan Corney, and Satyandra K. Gupta. "Recent advances and future challenges in automated manufacturing planning." Transactions of the ASME-S-Computing and In for Science in Engin 11.2 (2011): 021006. Mathur, Alok, et al. "Performance measurement in automated manufacturing." Measuring business excellence 15.1 (2011): 77-91. Papakostas, Nikolaos, et al. "Industrial applications with cooperating robots for the flexible assembly." International Journal of Computer Integrated Manufacturing 24.7 (2011): 650-660. Sanz Monge, Carlos. "Robots in manufacturing", Vienna University of Technology, (2011). Wilcox, Ronald, Stefanos Nikolaidis, and Julie Shah. "Optimization of temporal dynamics for adaptive human-robot interaction in assembly manufacturing." Proc. RSS. 2012. Read More