True automation flexibility is being able to retask a robot on fly
Not only is this a game-changer for adding new automation to a production line, but making modifications to the process as needed - as many times as needed - without having to have an Automation Engineer on-call...certainly wasn’t possible in the past.
It has almost become a cliche in the automation world how often a robotic solution is mothballed due to small changes in product being produced (ever noticed how many times the packaging changes on your favorite snack?). Walkthrough 10 manufacturing facilities that have used traditional industrial robots and I bet that if you look close enough, you will find at least five of those facilities have a robot stuck in a corner because the production requirement went away or the cost to maintain the solution became too much of burden.
With UR’s solution, changing a waypoint or logic statement can be done in minutes - many times seconds - and even if the production goes away, or you find yourself in a low volume/high mix situation, you can easily split the robots use between a number of locations. Imagine leveraging your automation assets exactly where it will give you the highest return on investment at any given time, not just based on where it is bolted to the floor. That’s powerful.
So yes, technology like Universal Robots Six-Axis robot solutions have made the life of an Automation Account manager easier, but the real benefit is for the user of this technology. It benefits the SME who has simple machine tending applications, where they can let the robot run parts at night vs the owner staying after hours. Or it can benefit a major automotive manufacturer that has numerous places where a robot can be used to perform ergonomically challenging applications, while the operator focuses on quality control and throughput.
The true benefit of ease of programming, safe operation, and flexibility of a UR solution is to our customers who use them.