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The Very Useful Guide to Robot Screwdriving

Alex Owen-Hill
by Alex Owen-Hill. Last updated on Dec 19, 2024 4:16 PM
Posted on Jul 02, 2021 10:00 AM. 4 min read time

If you're thinking about starting with robot screwdriving, this is the guide for you!

We humans are prone to error, especially in repetitive tasks like screwdriving. Even the most dedicated, skilled workers can't match the reliability and consistency of a well-designed screwdriving robot.

But, how do you design a screwdriving cell that really delivers on its promises?

You might be concerned that opting for robot automation will mean changing your screwdriving process (it might). You might worry that deploying the robot will take time (it might). And you might be uncertain how you can sell the idea to upper management.

Our new eBook "How to Automate a Screwdriving Cell" addresses all these concerns and more.

It gives you a step-by-step guide to preparing, designing, and operating a new robot screwdriving cell so that you can start reaping the benefits as soon as possible.

Here's what the eBook will teach you…

How to prepare for robot screwdriving

Before you design your cell, you first need to prepare.

The guide takes you through the steps that you need to consider first so that you are setting yourself up for success.

It will help you answer some key questions that are important to clarify upfront, such as:

  • Will automated screwdriving be faster or slower than human screwdriving?
  • How will automation affect the quality of the screwdriving operation?
  • Can automation increase the cell output?
  • What will be the impact on the productivity of the cell?

As you go through the eBook, you will gain a clearer understanding of these questions, helping you to make better decisions during the following design and operate phases of the deployment.

Should you automate? A back-of-the-napkin analysis method to find out

It's possible that you can automate your screwdriving application. But, this doesn't mean that you should automate it.

The eBook teaches you a simple method to assess your task, helping you to make that all-important decision of whether robotic automation is really the best option for your unique needs.

This quick-and-easy analysis method gives you the tools you need to compare the impact that the task will have on your business. It also allows you to assess whether the complexity of the deployment is too much or just enough for you.

Additionally, you will learn the key properties that indicate that a particular screwdriving process is ready for automation (yours might not be).

After using this analysis method, you should be confident that robotic screwdriving is the right choice for you… or you will have determined that it is not suitable for your specific task.

3 key considerations when designing your robot screwdriving cell

There are various considerations that you will have to make when designing your robot cell for screwdriving.

For this reason, the eBook goes into a helpful level of detail as it delves into the key considerations that you will need to think about when designing your screwdriving cell, including weighing up the specific technologies and their pros and cons.

The bare minimum components for screwdriving

It makes no sense to create an overly complex robotic cell that will be a headache for you to design and deploy.

For this reason, the guide explains those bare minimum components that you will need to deploy a successful screwdriving robot, including the 2 vital additions to any screwdriving cell.

You can add more components if you need to, but these components are all that you strictly require.

The eBook also describes the various types of screwdriving tools along with the limitations and benefits of each technology.

As an extra helping hand, it provides pointers for designing a perfect layout for your robot cell that will slot in with your existing processes.

Designing your screwdriving cell for safety

Collaborative robots are designed to be safe around humans, but not all aspects of a screwdriving cell will necessarily be safe.

The guide provides a tip that you can use to ensure that your whole screwdriving cell is safe, not just the robot itself.

Designing your cell for collaboration

One great feature of collaborative robots is that they can work collaboratively with humans, as their name suggests. This is particularly useful for screwdriving operations which are often performed as part of a larger assembly process that includes manual steps.

The guide outlines some considerations that you should think about when designing a cell that supports this type of collaboration.

The easy way to switch between different product lines

Unlike conventional screwdriving automation – which is often huge and inflexible – collaborative robots make it very easy to switch product lines.

The eBook outlines the tweaks and adjustments that you will have to make so that your changeovers can be quick and effective.

It also provides a highly useful tip that you can use to program your robot for a second product line in lightning quick time!

With this guidance, changing your screwdriving cell to another product line might just be one of the easiest tasks that you've ever performed with a robot.

Get your own copy of the eBook

As you can see, there is a lot of very useful information in our new guide "How to Automate a Screwdriving Cell."

For now, your only task is to download a free copy for yourself and get started creating your screwdriving cell!

Download the eBook

What screwdriving task will you deploy first? Tell us in the comments below or join the discussion on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, or the DoF professional robotics community.

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Alex Owen-Hill
Written by Alex Owen-Hill
Alex Owen-Hill is a freelance writer and public speaker who blogs about a large range of topics, including science, presentation skills at CreateClarifyArticulate.com, storytelling and (of course) robotics. He completed a PhD in Telerobotics from Universidad Politecnica de Madrid as part of the PURESAFE project, in collaboration with CERN. As a recovering academic, he maintains a firm foot in the robotics world by blogging about industrial robotics.
Connect with the writer:
http://alexowenhill.co.uk/

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