Automation is a risky business. You’re designing machines to do the job of people and that can be a tough task (see my post How To Automate A Complex Manual Process).
The main challenges or risks with any automation project fall into three categories:
1) Can you go fast enough to keep up? (Throughput/Speed)
2) Can you find the parts, pick them up, and place them accurately all while not dropping or damaging them? (Locating and Gripping Strategies)
3) Can you ensure quality will remain in the process without people there? (Quality Checks)
The devil is in the details. I’ve seen countless projects go sideways because integrators made assumptions about these variables and they came back to bite them. You don’t want a science fair project on your floor.
Great integrators are up front and realistic about the risks of projects and have tools/strategies to mitigate these risks. Kinematic simulation software can be used to determine robot move times very accurately. Discrete-Event simulation software can plug these robot speeds in with the entire process to get an understanding of the total process throughput/flow (i.e. fork-truck traffic, CNC cycletime, etc.). Prototyping of grippers or gripping strategies ensures you can grab the parts and handle as required. Prove out the quality checks. What tools/technologies will be used to solve this and how well will they work?
Have them show you similar projects they’ve completed successfully using similar strategies/technologies.
…more to come.
