Automation Canada - Machine Safety - 22

YASKAWA'S 9 KEY FACTORS FOR
COBOT WELDING SAFETY
Once relegated to a very basic collaborative robot with lower feature
semi-automatic weld equipment, today's welding cobots offer quite the
dichotomy. Feature-rich power supplies and intuitive pendant
applications are now assisting robust cobots. Whether supplementing
manual welding or being rolled-up to large, heavy workpieces,
extremely versatile collaborative robots are making highly relevant
applications come to life, especially for high-mix, low-volume
production environments.
This has brought the issues of collaborative robot safety to the
forefront, and it is well worth addressing, especially for those branching
into robotics.
COBOT SAFETY 101
One of the greatest benefits cobots have to offer is that they provide
The development of user-friendly technology continues to spark
greater confidence among business leaders for the implementation of
robotic automation. Highly flexible and capable of optimizing
production, more affordable easy-to-program collaborative robots - or
" cobots " - are quickly becoming the " go to " for a variety of tasks,
including arc welding.
Regarding the latter, advances in cobot designs including cast
aluminum construction, easy-to-clean surfaces, longer arm reaches,
and higher payload capacities are especially beneficial. So much so,
that cobots with industrial pedigrees are expected to be the
fastest-growing segment for collaborative robots through 20251.
CANADIAN AUTOMATION
the ability for humans to work with or near robots. However, using a
collaborative robot in name and design is not enough to make an
application safe. For an application to truly qualify as collaborative and
deemed safe, the entire robotic system and application must be
addressed. This includes the robot, workpiece, robot work area and
even the end-of-arm tooling (EOAT). If any of these critical areas fail to
meet specified safety standards during a risk assessment, then the
application cannot be approved as collaborative - unless identified risk
is mitigated appropriately.
COLLABORATIVE WELDING TIPS
When it comes to optimizing robot usage, safety should not be
overlooked. To achieve peak performance and the best robot work area
possible for your application, consider the following factors:
VOLUME 4, ISSUE 2
22
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Automation Canada - Machine Safety

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