Assembly - January 2009 - (Page 69) performing highly repetitive tasks, such as welding, or more awkward tasks, such as frame assembly. “The assembly of stringers and welding processes are very time intensive. A large percentage of the stringer and tabbing processes are automated,” LaSelle says. “The other area where labor tends to slow the process is in frame assembly…. There has been a lot of work done in these areas using articulated robotics to consistently apply the required pressure, ensure that all the fastening hardware is in place and assemble the frames in a repeatable fashion.” Robots are also well suited to solar panel assembly because of their ability to quickly adapt to product changes. The market for industrial and residential solar panels is still very much in a state of flux, with few if any standards. As a result, different solar panel model lines are continually being refined or displaced by new products more in keeping with current demand. Of course, having to reconfigure a conventional hard automation system to accommodate this kind of change can be difficult or even possible. However, with robot-based automation, adapting to different product dimensions or configurations simply requires a change of programming and possibly a new end effector. These are both tasks that are becoming easier and easier thanks to today’s controllers and hardware. Even end effectors are becoming increasingly flexible, so that a single piece can be used with multiple product types. “The solar industry is evolving at a blistering pace,” LaSelle says. “Robotics offers the ability to run short batches and allow for a greater product mix due to their inherent flexibility.” LaSelle adds there have been a number of cases in which a company has employed a robot or robots during the testing phase of a new model and then successfully implemented those same machines in its full-scale assembly line. “Many startup and development labs need to implement a pilot line quickly to test their theories and prove to investors that they can achieve what their specific technology claims to deliver,” he says. “When they need to move to highvolume production, the robot can then be redeployed in a full line…to obtain the increased throughput requirements. For those whose theories do not pan out, there is a much greater market for a used robot than a dedicated piece of equipment.” Adept’s Sachania agrees. “There are still no standards. The industry is still evolving. Wafer sizes are still changing. Eventually there will be a standard, but we’re not there yet.” Machine Vision Central to this flexibility and efficiency is the use of robotbased machine vision. In addition to performing quality inspections, machine vision can be used to help locate randomly placed wafers on W ALL NE easy • accurate • automatic DSP Sensor Run it in Standalone Mode The Ultimate in Handheld Laser Profilers •Completely self-contained. No cable. No external device •On-board DSP, non-volatile memory and color display •4 hours of run-time from off-the-shelf, rechargeable camcorder battery •Totally compatible with current LaserGauge measurement capability •View, save and download data Or Use it as a USB Device With Your Laptop or Tablet PC •Enhanced graphics and data analysis •Automatically save every scan •Run inspection routines •Compare results from different algorithms on the same scan •Butt Welds •Gap •Flush •Peaking •Mismatch •Angle •Radius •Fasteners •Dents •Lap Welds •Chamfer •Max/Min •Height •Width •Undercut •Fillet Welds •Contour •Depth •Concavity •Convexity Inspect/Measure www.origintech.com 256-461-1313 www.assemblymag.com January 2009 / ASSE M B LY 69 http://www.origintech.com http://www.origintech.com http://www.assemblymag.com
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