The advent of robotic automation has driven an exciting transformation in the manufacturing and industrial realms, presenting an unprecedented opportunity for human progress. Industrial robots have emerged as game-changers, empowering businesses with enhanced efficiency, unparalleled precision, and utmost safety. In this article, we will explore ten common tasks that that industrial robots are used for. Get ready to be inspired as we unveil the limitless potential of industrial robots across sectors.
Material handling:
Robots can accurately and efficiently move raw materials, components, and finished products from place to place in a factory or warehouse. Robots working in material handling eliminate the need for humans to take on hazardous, tedious, and repetitive labour.
Welding:
Robots can perform a number of welding tasks, which serves to improve quality and consistency, reduces waste, time, and the need for manual labour. Welding robots can also be employed in inaccessible locations and in a variety of welding processes, such as arc, spot, TIG, MIG, laser and more.
Painting:
Robots can apply paint and coatings to a variety of surfaces, providing consistent coverage and reducing overspray. Used for many years now, particularly in the auto industry, for example, they are highly sophisticated, reliable painters. They are additionally adept at working on difficult-to-reach and complex surfaces.
Assembly:
Robots can perform tasks such as screwing, gluing, and inserting components, improving speed at the same time as reducing labour costs. Assembly robots have been around for many decades, and they work without errors, and offer extremely high precision and safety.
Picking and packing:
Robots can pick items from shelves and pack them into boxes or containers, increasing efficiency and reducing the risk of injuries. Whether they work in the likes of the food or postal industry, for example, they provide uninterrupted, accurate and consistent performance, all at high speed.
Inspection:
Robots can inspect products for defects, measuring dimensions, and checking for anomalies. Ground robots and climbing robots are employed in inspecting everything from sewers and wind turbine rotor blades to leakage detection and the internal monitoring of equipment.
Machine tending:
Robots can load and unload parts from machines, improving speed and reducing the need for manual labour. Robots doing machine tending endlessly repeat a process (such as loading and unloading to and from a milling machine, for example) as long as it receives the raw parts it is programmed to work with.
Cutting and grinding:
Robots can perform precision cutting and grinding tasks on a variety of materials, improving quality and consistency, and in the process removing hazardous jobs from humans. The duties are not, however, confined to these areas: there are also robots for deburring, polishing, drilling, sanding and buffing, among many others.
Testing:
Robots can perform a variety of tests, such as pressure testing, leak testing, and electrical testing, ensuring product quality and reliability. Miniature robots can nowadays patrol pipe networks to check for water or gas pipeline faults, and existing leaks and potential leaks, including in difficult-to-access or tight locations.
Packaging:
Robots can pack products into boxes, bags, or other containers, reducing labour costs and improving efficiency. Improvements in speed, accuracy, and overall efficiency result in higher packaging operation productivity rates. Packaging robots are used increasingly in the medical and food industries.
These are just a few examples of the many tasks that industrial robots can perform. Robotic automation is becoming increasingly common in manufacturing and industrial settings, and the range of applications for robots is continually expanding.
