AUTOMATION AND ROBOTICS

ABSTRACT : In this paper we have presented the perspective of AUTOMATION AND ROBOTICS in the modern industries, with appropriate graphs and diagrams. At the present time, most automated manufacturing task are carried out by special purpose machines designed to perform predetermined functions in manufacturing process. In automation robots plays more important role. In the recent past we have seen that in many factories automation is done with help of robots.

AUTOMATION

Many commercially available industrial robots are widely used in manufacturing and assembly task, such as material handling, spot/arc welding, part assembly, paint spraying, loading and unloading numerically controlled machines , space and under sea exploration ,prosthetic arm research, and in handling hazardous material. Robot now means a reprogrammable machine with several independent degrees of freedom, which can exchange information with other device. Nowadays several types of robots are used to automate the industries. In this paper we have taken the Pick and Place type robot, since the Pick and Place robot is commonly used in most of the industries. The Pick and Place robot uses a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC). The robots can also be classified according to the particular mixture of their primary axes. Cartesian (three linear axes) Cylindrical (two linear & one rotational axis) Spherical (one linear & two rotation axes) Articulated (three rotary axes) The most successful of these robot geometries has been the articulated type and amongst them is the variation articulated type named SCARA .We have explained about the SCARA with proper diagrams .Further we have discussed the power sources used for these robots, the controller and the path control. To describe the above we have taken two latest case studies of automated robot for soldering and separation of Printed Circuit Board (PCB) with PLC controlled fixture. BACKGROUND With pressing need for increased productivity and the delivery of end products of uniform quality , industry is turning more and more towards computer based automation. At the present time , most automated manufacturing
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task are carried out by special purpose machines designed to perform predetermined functions in manufacturing process.

DEFINATIONS The word robot originated from Czech word robota, meaning work . Webstar dictionary defines robot as an automatic device that performs functions ordinarily ascribed to human beings. A definition given by the Robot Institute Of America gives more precise description of industrial robots: A robot is a programmable multifunctional manipulator designed to move material , parts , tools or specialized devised through variable programmed motions for the performance of variety of tasks. IN AUTOMATION ROBOTS PLAYS MORE IMPORTANT ROLE. NOW A DAYS IN MANY FACTORIES AUTOMATION IS DONE WITH HELP OF ROBOTS. Many commercially available industrial robots are widely used in

manufacturing and assembly task, such as material handling, spot /arc welding, part assembly, paint spraying, loading and unloading numerically controlled machines , space and under sea exploration ,prosthetic arm research, and in handling hazardous material.Robots are often include in Flexible Manufacturing System and in Computer Integrated manufacturing system.

ROBOTS Robot now means a reprogrammable machine with several independent degree of freedom, which can exchange information with other device. There are several types of robots used in automated industries . Pick and place robot Pick and place robots arms consist of at least two degrees of freedom and some type of end effectors . each degree of freedom is a pneumatic actuator build into a precision linear or rotary slide mechanisms . a pick and place robotic actuator cannot stop between the end points of its ends. Pick and place robots are usually supplied with controllers. The most commonly used controllers are PLCs(programmable logic controllers).

ROBOT GEOMETRIES Robots are classified according to the particular mixture of their primary axes. Cartesian (three linear axes) Cylindrical (two linear & one rotational axis) Spherical (one linear & two rotation axes) Articulated (three rotary axes) The most successful of these three robot geometries has been the articulated type, perhaps because we humans expect robot to perform motions suited to our limbs. Perhaps the most successful robot geometry has been a variation articulated geometry, the SCARA, or selective compliance articulated robot actuator , which has three vertical axes of rotation. The SCARA robot has been so successful because we tend to lay out workcells on a flat surface & because the SCARAs vertical axes of rotation are ideally suited to allow minor inaccuracies in two dimensional world.

POWER SOURCES FOR ROBOTS

Some early electrically powered robots where built using stepping motors , and were driven by open loop controllers. In open loop control the robot controller has no sensor to verify the actuator has moved its axis to desired position. Most

modern electrical robots have close loop control system driving DC permanent magnet or brushless DC motors.

THE CONTROLLER Central processing unit

Robots become popular when 8 bit computers, such as the popular Apple 2E,

were the norm . There are still robots available that have controllers built around an 8 bit microprocessor such as Motorolas 6800, or zilogs Z80 . The disadvantage of these early robot controllers was that , besides being slower than more recent microprocessor they had severe limitation on the amount of memory they could address.

PATH CONTROL The disadvantages early robots was that ,by the time they could overcome friction & inertia to respond to changing position control signal , the control signal had changed again ! Modern robots still suffer from the effects of varying friction & inertia. With digital computer controllers , however , we can issue a position change command , then wait until the sensors issuing another command. indicate that the robot has completed the move before

CASE STUDY
THE WORKCELL - WORKING Nearly completed circuit boards arrived at the workcell on a belt conveyor . A PLC controlled fixture at the conveyor orients them , one at a time , so that the robot can pick them up.The robot moves the circuit board from the soldering fixture.A vibratory bowl feeder , under PLC control, separates and orients connectors, which start loosely jumbled in the feeder bowl . As the vibratory bowl outputs oriented connectors, a fixture precisely positions them so that the robot can pick them up. The robot picks them up a connector & places it on the board in soldering fixture.

A soldering head at the soldering fixture permanently attaches the connector to the circuit board.The robot moves the assembled and soldered circuit board to the testing fixture.The tester performs electrical testing of each component on the circuit board , and test to ensure that the complete circuit works properly . The robot receives a test passed or a test failed message from the tester, then either. Places working circuit boards on a good parts output conveyor ,or Places defective circuit boards onto the bad parts output conveyor.

A FLEXIBLE MANUFACTURING SYSTEM WORKCELL FOR CIRCUIT CARD ASSEMBLY The workcell accept a variety of circuit card . there is a bar code reader on the input conveyor to identify the incoming circuit type.Dependent on the type of circuit card that has arrived ,the workcell selects the correct connector or connectors from a variety of vibratory bowl feeder at the workcell.The workcell places and solders connectors in the appropriate location for the board type .The workcell runs various tests of circuit card component and circuit performance , depending on the type of board being assembled.

CONCLUSION Robotic assembly is a field in which industry is showing great intreast because of the economic potential. More people in industry are becoming aware of technology and aware of its potential for usefull applications. The technology of robotics will improve over the next few years in such a way as to make robots more user friendly and easier to interface to other hardware and software and easier to install. As the market grows, we expect economies of scale in the production of robote to effect a reduction the unit price. REFRENCES K.S.Fu, R.E.Gonzalez,C.S.G. Lee,Robotics,McGraw Hill International edition, p.p. 1-2. Saeed B. Niku,Introduction to Robotics,Pearson Education Asia,p.p.11-12. S.Brian Morriss,Automated Manufacturing System, McGraw Hill International edition p.p.233-237,244,249,258,267