What is a collaborative robot and how to implement it in your production process?

The arrival of collaborative robots, also called cobots, revolutionized the industrial world. The latter was designed to work hand in hand with humans with the aim of relieving them from painful and repetitive tasks. 

What is a collaborative robot? 

Cobot is the contracted name given to a latest generation robot equipped with the latest safety technology in order to work close to humans safely. 

This technology consists of monitoring the movements of the motorized axes to avoid shocks and excessive efforts, especially with a person nearby. This type of cobot is most of the time in the form of a robotic and articulated arm or double arm, small in size and particularly light. It will be used for tasks requiring little force and which can be automated quite easily. Some manufacturers have taken advantage of this to simplify programming, and even to set up cobot learning modes. 

For a given task, a person can be more or less helped by the cobot, which will perform the repetitive and low value-added part while the person concentrates on the non-robot work. 

The more intense the level of collaboration, the more work will be shared in the same space and on the same task. There are even load or tool manipulation cobots which are not intended to be independent, but to collaborate with the operator who is always in charge of their operation. 

What are the benefits of collaborative robotics? 

In many cases the use of the collaborative robot can be considered as a robot that does not require a physical safety barrier. This allows integration in a restricted space, at low cost and relative easiness. 

1. Flexibility: very easily configurable, it is multitasking and adapts quickly to changes in the environment or work performed. 

2. Quality: it reduces the risk of errors arising from manual management; 

3. Safety: it is able to handle the most dangerous operations to minimize the risk of damage to the operator; 

4. Productivity: it allows the heaviest tasks to be carried out without interruption, thus allowing a gain in performance; 

5. Economy: There is a rapid return on investment for the cobot projects carried out; 

6. Reduction of MSDs: it relieves humans and prevents the appearance of musculoskeletal disorders, the leading cause of occupational disease compensated in France. 

How to properly integrate the collaborative robot into its production process? 

The implementation of a cobot profoundly changes the way of working. Everything must be studied and checked to guarantee optimal working conditions for operators. This includes the safety functions built into the robot, but also all external parameters that may interfere with its use. 

Indeed, the collaborative robot is made to work closely with humans, they cohabit on the same workspace without any barrier in between. It is therefore imperative to check that the cobot fulfills 4 major safety principles: 

The possibility of a safety stop of the robot without the intervention of a third person in the event of a dangerous situation; 

Manual guidance, i.e. the possibility for the operator to control the robot at any time; 

Control of speed and separation distance, the cobot must be able to move away, change path or stop if the safety perimeter with the operator is no longer respected; 

The limitation of power and force of the robot which must be able to stop automatically if one of these parameters is exceeded. 

Employees must be integrated into the process of setting up the collaborative robot, they are the ones on the front line and the effectiveness of the robot widely depends on how they will accept it and work with it. 

Cobots are relatively easy to learn and operate without robotics experience, however, it is advisable to train employees in the programming and maintenance of the robot in order to maximize its efficiency.