The automotive industry is well known for its diverse use of robots since their first application in the world. Use of robots in the automotive industry has helped to increase the production efficiency while providing flexibility in the workflow. Some of the robotic applications made in the automotive industry include:
1. Robotic Vision
This is a robot whose arm is equipped with 'eyes.' The camera and the laser located on the robot's wrist enables the robot to have a vision of correctly which car part should be installed where. Robotic vision gives the robot precision in the installation of sensitive car parts.
This technology enables the robot to adapt to any changes in the production process very quickly and offset the installation of components. The fact that the robots can identify particular differences with each car in the production line not only improves the quality of the car but also enables the industry to produce custom cars.
2. Robotic Hand
The application of robots in the automotive industry is widespread, but tasks such as wiring and wheel installation remain in the hands of human workers. The completion of the car is mainly done by human labor hence the need to reduce the workload applied to the human side.
The robotic arm has served to reduce the human effort applied to those repetitive tasks. By using the exoskeleton device, the worker can grip 10 pounds more than they could handle usually. The robotic arm is equipped with sensors, muscles, and nerves that much help to reduce the fatigue experienced by the worker.
3. Robotic Painting
The painting process of a completed car is a crucial one requiring a substantial amount of skill and expertise. Painting a new car is complicated as nit only does it need hard work and consistency; it can prove to be dangerous to human workers. Finding a highly qualified painter can prove to be hard and automotive robots have stepped in to ease the process.
The use of these robots in painting not only delivers consolidated results but also reduces the wastage of paint and the amount of time spent on art.
4. Collaborative Robots
The automotive industry has adopted the use of collaborative robots as not only do they serve to reduce the number of injuries experienced at the workplace but also increase the amount of work done in a day. The robots work hand in hand with human workers especially in the installation of car doors where they specialize in the fixing of the door sealant that keeps water and sound off the car while the humans focus on installing the actual door.
Robots are also being placed in the automotive industry to collaborate with other robots on the production line. One robot work in the handling of car parts while the second robot is involved in the welding of the components on the car. This not only improves the efficiency of the production process but leaves the human labor to focus on other crucial processes in the car assembly process.
Why Use Automotive Robots?
Car manufacturers are increasingly adopting the use of automotive robots in their production process. This trend can be attributed to the competitive advantage that they gain against their competitors because of the benefits they gain from the use of these robots. Such interests include;
In the automotive industry, there is a dire need to maintain consistency in the production time of the cars to meet the demand. Automotive robots not only yield higher output than human labor but maintain consistency in the production process as they don't tire or fall sick in the middle of production.
Robots can do tasks over and over again without causing a change in the quality of the output. They are also equipped with sensors that enable them to detect variations in the inputs allowing them to change accordingly to maintain the same level of quality.
