Integrating robots into machines: Simplifying intelligent production line design

In the future of automated production lines, robots will become an essential component. At the Innovation Day, Dr. Robert Kickinger from ABB B&R headquarters presented B&R’s innovative robotics technology: Integrating robots into machines. This robot is called “machine-centric robot”, it is centered on the process host, the robot as part of the machine, using the same network, the same controller, the same software, the same HMI development, in order to better synchronize the collaboration, simplify the design, respond to high-speed application needs.

Dr. Robert Kickinger, Strategy Manager, B&R Greater China, ABB

According to Dr. Robert Kickinger, in a survey on why robots should be used in FMCG production, 90 percent of people agreed that robots can reduce labor and repetitive tasks, 78 percent agreed that robots can increase speed and productivity, and 67 percent agreed that repetitive quality and consistent product handling can be achieved.

In terms of how to use robots in automated production lines, 64% of equipment manufacturers believe that robots need to be fully integrated into automated systems, and only 36% of equipment manufacturers believe that robots operate as standalone systems.

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With more production line integration needs, robots are becoming more of an important target for production line integration, B&R acquired Codian robots in 2021, and seamlessly integrated Codian robots into B&R automation systems. Dr. Robert Kickinger believes that integrating robots into machines will bring unprecedented benefits.

For example, the robot and the motion control shaft, the robot and B&R’s Trak system, and the vision sensor can achieve high-precision synchronous motion. After the integration of the robot, you can use B&R Automation Studio to unified programming, program development, picking and placing process simulation, testing and verification, maintenance, etc., as long as a development tool can develop the entire machine, without the need for a special robot programming language. Based on the design of mappVIEW, the robot and other machine applications can be integrated into an HMI to achieve unified human-computer interaction of the whole machine. Moreover, since the process equipment and the robot use the same controller, HMI and network connection, this saves a controller and reduces hardware costs such as electrical cabinet space and wiring.

Innovation is the driving force for world progress. For B&R, which is always at the forefront of science and technology, innovation is the existence of genes flowing through its development process. This 2023 B&R Innovation Day, we see that B&R has a lot of innovative technologies and concepts in the field of equipment manufacturing, which undoubtedly adds a driving force for China’s equipment manufacturing industry, which is in urgent need of high-quality development.