Considerations When You Are Going To Buy Production Automation
If you do not have experience with what robotics and robotics companies can offer you
, it is a good idea to have a list of previously defined thoughts available to evaluate production automation if you are in the market to purchase a robotics. You can come up with this list as you are defining what you expect robotics to do for your business, these two ideas fit hand-in-hand. The manufacturer that you want to deal with has to have broad stability in the production automation arena. For the automation that you are interested in for your business, there should be case study information that can help you see the capabilities of the robotics in an environment that is similar to your plant environment. Try to find out what the long term support track record is for the manufacturer for the production automation you would like to purchase.The robotic integrator should have employees in the support area that can help with the technical issues that may arise for your operation. The claims may be there for the longevity of the robotics, but let's face it machines break and there needs to be someone who can give your business the support to get your production line running again as soon as possible. Find out from your robotics company what the game plan is for getting a production line that is down, back operational again. What do they expect to do when they get the call for immediate service. It is a good idea to ask them before they install the equipment, to see if they have a plan of action. Find out if there are spare parts available without long lead times. It is very frustrating to start up new equipment, then to find out that there is a missing adapter or other part that has a long lead time.
Case study information about the robotics should give you an idea of the longevity of the robot. The companies that have already been running robotics for some time should be able to give you some very definite technical data about the reliability of the products in which you have an interest. This data should contain how many shifts the machine runs, have the operators had to take the equipment off-line for any reason, and if so, for what reasons. If the manufacturer of the robotics has good reliability in the marketplace then case studies of customers should be given that will give both the assets and liabilities of the equipment.
The manufacturer should have detailed training in place that will get your employees up to speed as quickly as possible. If at all possible try to have the training done at your place of business, there will be greater benefit derived from a learning experience under the eye of management. There will be no travel and hotel costs if training is done at home. There will be a lot of expertise at your company when the installation of the production automation is done. You and your employees should ask a lot of questions, to make sure your staff has a good feel for what is expected when automated production starts up. Like they say ,"No question is a dumb question." If you have one you should ask it.
Production automation equipment should be the best fit for your business and be able to meet the goals that you have set for automation. The robotic should be able to handle the largest payload that you will require. It should be able to create as much force as is required for your operation. This will determine how effective the robotic will be in lifting and moving, and at what speed. These tasks should be easily accomplished without straining the moving parts or motors which would shorten the life of the device. It is important to determine what the continuous cycle time is for the robotic. Be sure to ask if the cycle times given are for continuous or shorted cycle times. The robotic may not be able to sustain the long-term continuous cycles without failure. Make sure that programming can be done very readily and does not have features that you do not require or would make operation more difficult than it has to be.
The production automation should be an efficient design for your business. It should take as little floor space as is practical. All the air and electrical lines should be concealed so that there is no interference with other equipment. This will reduce the possibility of damage to the lines and reduce maintenance costs. The device should be as light weight as possible. Lees weight means that less energy will be required to move the parts of the device. This will give you long term savings in energy costs. The controller should also be efficient, small in size, and have a high processing speed. It should be able to handle an expansion in peripheral devices that could be added to your system at a later time. The controller should be easily integrated with a vision system for quality control.
by: John Mitchell