26 n ROBOTS October 2023 www.drivesncontrols.com Ten tips on choosing the right cobot When the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) first started to collate data on collaborative robots (cobots) in 2017, this new breed of robot had a market share of just 2.8%. The IFR’s latest report shows that by 2022, that figure had leapt to almost 10%, with the number of newly deployed collaborative robots growing by more than 30% year-on-year to reach around a global total of 55,000 last year. There are several reasons why cobots are gaining in popularity. First, they provide an answer to many of the challenges that manufacturers are facing in this “new normal” era. In terms of flexibility, the cobot sits between an industrial robot and a human. This level of agility is valuable for accommodating the shorter product lifecycles and vast numbers of SKUs that are typical of the increasingly common HMLV (high-mix-lowvolume) approach to manufacturing. Cobots can also help manufacturers counteract the ongoing issue of unskilled labour shortages by freeing up human workers to carry out more valuable tasks. As demand for cobots has soared, the number of players in the market has proliferated and there are now more than 60 cobot manufacturers worldwide. While more competition can mean greater choice and better value for customers, it can also cause confusion. This is particularly salient when you consider that cobot sales in the UK are being driven by SMEs, who seldom have the inhouse resources and expertise to thoroughly assess numerous different makes and models. To help the decision-making process and to navigate the complexities and avoid costly pitfalls, companies can work through the checklist below when buying a cobot. 1. Establish the business case To determine whether your operation would benefit from a cobot, start by identifying the pain points that are hindering your growth or performance. If your list includes staff reliability, RSI, health and safety concerns, a lack of labour, or the limitations of hard automation, then cobots are a route worth exploring. 2. Identify potential applications The next step is to identify the applications associated with these pain points. Which tasks are causing RSI? Which health and safety hazards could be removed – such as lifting/moving heavy loads? Which are the tasks that humans don’t want to do? After a slow start, collaborative robots are starting to make inroads into the industrial robot market. But how do newcomers to the technology choose the best cobot for their application? Paul Richards, Fanuc’s global customer coordinator for the European cobot market, offers some advice. Cobots’ defining characteristic is their ability to operate safely alongside humans without needing protective barriers
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