IMPROVEMENT OF PRODUCTIVITY IN AUTOMOTIVE PAINT SHOP USING ROBOTIC ARM: A CASE STUDY

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1 IMPROVEMENT OF PRODUCTIVITY IN AUTOMOTIVE PAINT SHOP USING ROBOTIC ARM: A CASE STUDY Baldev Singh Rana 1,Nisha Rana 2 Department of Mechanical Engineering, A.G.U Shimla Himachal Pradesh Department of Applied Sciences, A.G.U. Shimla Himachal Pradesh ABSTRACT Many applications of autonomous robotics involve robot motion. For these applications (e.g. exploration, performing tasks in hard conditions, like in a very cold/hot environment, search for survivors in a cataclysm, objects delivery) having good path-finding abilities is of primary importance. In particular, an emphasis should be put on crawling. It is to navigate in normal manner i.e. through walking or driving on wheel. A natural approach may be to make robots will navigate and avoid obstacles using reactive behaviour. This is fast, but not always sufficient to find its path. Deliberative planners are more efficient to find solutions, and can use a prior knowledge, but they are more sensitive to uncertain sensing. More specifically our study is based on the production rate of company A where painting on Automobile bodies is done manually and in another company B where Robots or Robotic Arms were used for painting the bodies of Automobile. Paint Shop Environment in Vehicle manufacturing unit having toxic chemicals that causes health problems. So to avoid the health hazards from companies preferred robotic arm over manual paint shop. Keywords: Robots, Robotic Arm, Path finding abilities, Production rate. INTRODUCTION Use of Robots in place of conventional manufacturing system facilitates precise control of manufacturing process and result in significant savings. The most effective way, which can pay big dividends in the long run through uninterrupted trouble-free running, is the use of Robots. It requires a conscious effort on the part of Production Engineers to identify areas where use of Robots can result in better deployment/utilization of resources and savings in man-hours, down time. Robots need not be high ended and too sophisticated; it is the planned and systematic approach to increase production, reduce downtime and eliminate failures employing easy to understand, smart proof logic tailored to the requirements of Production Department. Robotics field includes the following streams to form Robot as shown in figure 1 below 34

2 Figure 1.1 Various fields in Robotics [2] 1.1 Robot A robot is a mechanical or virtual artificial agent, usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by a computer program or electronic circuitry. Robots can be autonomous or semi-autonomous and range from humanoids such as Honda's Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility (ASIMO) and TOSY's TOSY Ping Pong Playing Robot (TOPIO) to industrial robots, collectively programmed swarm robots, and even microscopic nano robots. By mimicking a lifelike appearance or automating movements, a robot may convey a sense of intelligence or thought of its own. The branch of technology that deals with the design, construction, operation, and application of robots as well as computer systems for their control, sensory feedback, and information processing is robotics. These technologies deal with automated machines that can take the place of humans in dangerous environments or manufacturing processes, or resemble humans in appearance, behavior, and/or recognition. 35

Figure 1.2 Shows Popular human Robot developed by Honda.[6] Many of today's robots are inspired by nature contributing to the field of bio-inspired robotics.

3 Figure 1.2 Shows Popular human Robot developed by Honda.[6] Many of today's robots are inspired by nature contributing to the field of bio-inspired robotics. These robots have also created a newer branch of robotics: From the time of ancient civilization there have been many accounts of user configurable automated devices and even automata resembling animals and humans, designed primarily as entertainment. As mechanical techniques developed through the Industrial age, there appeared more practical applications such as automated machines remote-control and wireless remote-control. Electronics evolved into the driving force of development with the advent of the first electronic autonomous robots created by William Grey Walter in Bristol, England in The first digital and programmable robot was invented by George Devol in 1954 and was named the Unimate. It was sold to General Motors in 1961 where it was used to lift pieces of hot metal from die casting machines at the Inland Fisher Guide Plant in the West Trenton section of Ewing Township, New Jersey. Robots have replaced humans in the assistance of performing those repetitive and dangerous tasks which humans prefer not to do, or are unable to do due to size limitations, or even those such as in outer space or at the bottom of the sea where humans could not survive the extreme environments. There are concerns about the increasing use of robots and their role in society. Robots are blamed for rising unemployment as they replace workers in increasing numbers of functions. The use of robots in military combat raises ethical concerns. The possibilities of robot autonomy and potential repercussions have been addressed in fiction and may be a realistic concern in the future. 36

Types of robots Pick and place Moves items between points Moves items from one point to another Does not need to follow a specific path between points Uses

5 A SCARA robot (Selective Compliant Articulated Robot Arm): A pick-andplace robot with angular x-y-z positioning (Adept Technology) Continuous path control

4 Types of robots Pick and place Moves items between points Moves items from one point to another Does not need to follow a specific path between points Uses include loading and unloading machines, placing components on circuit boards, and moving parts off conveyor belts. Figure 1.5 A SCARA robot (Selective Compliant Articulated Robot Arm): A pick-andplace robot with angular x-y-z positioning (Adept Technology) Continuous path control Moves along a programmable path Moves along a specific path Uses include welding, cutting, machining parts. Figure 1.6 shows Example of A six-axis industrial robot ($60K)(Fanuc Robotics), but an 37

5 additional $200K is often spent for tooling and programming. Sensory Employs sensors for feedback Uses sensors for feedback. Closed-loop robots use sensors in conjunction with actuators to gain higher accuracy servo motors. Uses include mobile robotics, telepresence, search and rescue, pick and place with machine vision. RESULTS Lights out manufacturing is when a production system is 100% or near to 100% automated (not hiring any workers). In order to eliminates the need for labor s all together. The biggest benefit of Robotic automation is that it saves labor; however, it is also used to save energy and materials and to improve quality, accuracy and precision. Production rate for the month June July in a Manual paint shop in Company A. S.No NUMBER OF VEHICLES PAINTED PER WEEK NUMBER OF SKILLED WORKERS ENGAGED NUMBER OF UNSKILLED WORKERS ENGAGED Labour 1 June Equipment Raw Material Used 2 Total 3.05 Production Rate 40 2 July From the above table Production per vehicle manually in Company A = Production rate for the month June July in a Robotic paint shop in Company B. S.No NUMBER OF VEHICLES PAINTED PER WEEK NUMBER OF SKILLED WORKERS ENGAGED Labour 1 June July Equipment Raw Material Used 8 8 Total Production Rate

6 No. of Vehicles per month in AGU International Journal of Science and Technology From the above table Production per vehicle manually in Company B = Cost save by robots in company B per vehicle = = Company A(Manually) Company B( Using Robots) June July Bar chart shows the Production Rate at paint shops during the months of June & July in Company A and B Company A Company B Line chart shows the Production Cost at paint shops during the months of June and July in Company A& B Abscissa in the above chart shows the Company A and Company B.Ordinates Show the number of vehicles painted during the month of June and July. June July 39

production rate in June and July month at Company B and Blue color

7 Production Rate in June Company A 20% Company B 80% Production rate in July Company A 23% Company B 77% In Chart C Maroon color shows the production rate in June and July month at Company B and Blue color shows production rate in June and July month at Company A respectively. 40

8 7/1/2014 6/1/ Time Taken in Days Time taken to paint 40 vehicles manually in paint shop of Company A =1 month Time taken to paint 40 vehicles using Robots in paint shop of Company B =7.5 days Total Time saved by using Robots in paint shop of company B =22.5 days CONCLUSION From above shown results we conclude the following advantages and disadvantages for Robots used companies and also other application of robotics in industries. ADVANTAGES It reduces human efforts. It produces high productivity Replacing human operators in tedious tasks. Replacing humans in tasks that should be done in dangerous environments (i.e. Fire, space, volcanoes, nuclear facilities, under the water, etc) Making task that are beyond the human capabilities such as handle too heavy loads, too large objects, too hot or too cold substances or the requirement to make things too fast or too slow. Economy improvement. Sometimes and some kinds of robot automation implies improves in economy of enterprises, society or most of humankind. For example, when an enterprise that has invested in robots recovers its investment; when a state or country increases its income due to robots like Germany or Japan. DISADVANTAGES Technology limits. Nowadays technology is not able to automate all the desired tasks. 41

9 Initial s are relative high. The robots desired for manufacturing of a new product required a huge initial investment in comparison with the unit of the product, although the of Robotic automation is spread in many product batches. The automation of a Plant required a great initial investment too, although this is spread in the products to be produced. Causing unemployment and poverty by replacing human labor. Security Threats/Vulnerability: An Robotic systems may have a limited level of intelligence, and is therefore more susceptible to committing errors outside of its immediate scope of knowledge (e.g., it is typically unable to apply the rules of simple logic to general propositions). Unpredictable/excessive development s: The research and development of Robots for automating a process may exceed the saved by the Robots automation itself. High initial : The automation of a new product or plant typically requires a very large initial investment in comparison with the unit of the product, although the of robotic automation may be spread among many products and over time. In manufacturing, the purpose of robots has shifted to issues broader than productivity,, and time. Knowledgebase for Robotics Typical knowledgebase for the design and operation of robotics systems Dynamic system modeling and analysis Feedback control Sensors and signal conditioning Actuators and power electronics Hardware/computer interfacing Computer programming Applications of Robots in Industries Agriculture Automobile Construction Entertainment Health care: hospitals, patient-care, surgery, research, etc. Laboratories: science, engineering, etc. Law enforcement: surveillance, patrol, etc. Manufacturing Military: demining, surveillance, attack, etc. Mining, excavation, and exploration Transportation: air, ground, rail, space, etc. Utilities: gas, water, and electric Warehouses 42

10 REFERENCES [1] YifangZhong, Changlin Wu, Zhengbao Tang, Mechanical and Machine Design(ı ııı ), 2 ed. Huazhong University of Science and Technology press, 2006 [2] Ming Chang, Descriptive Geometry and Engineering Graphics (ı ıııııııı ), 3 ed. Huazhong University of Science and Technology press, 2004 [3] Shiquan Zhou, Fundamentals for Mechanical Manufacturing Process (ı ı I ı ıııı ), Huazhong University of Science and Technology press, 2005 [4] Jiao Ni, Guoqing Li, Qin Qian, Mechanical of Materials,(ı ııı ), Huazhong University of Science and Technology press, 2006 [5] Bradski, Gary, and Adrian Kaehler. Learning OpenCV: Computer Vision with the OpenCVLibrary.O'Reilly Media, Print. [6] Jianbo Shi, Tomasi, C."Good features to track," Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition, Proceedings CVPR '94., 1994 IEEE Computer Society Conference on, vol., no., pp , Jun 1994 [7] Bouguet, Jean-Yves."Pyramidal Implementation of the Lucas Kanade Feature Tracker Description of the algorithm." Print. [8] H. Asada and J.J. Slotine, Robot Analysis and Control, Wiley, New York, [9] K. Fu, R. Gonzalez, and C.S.G. Lee, Robotics: Control, Sensing, Vision, and Intelligence, McGraw-Hill, New York, [10] E. Riven, Mechanical Design of Robots, McGraw-Hill, New York, [11] J.C. Latombe, Robot Motion Planning, Kiuwer Academic Publishers, Boston, [12] M. Spong, Robot Control: Dynamics, Motion Planning, and Analysis, HiEE Press, New York, [13] S.Y. Nof, Handbook of Industrial Robotics, 2nd Edition, Wiley, New York, [14] L.W. Tsai, Robot Analysis: The Mechanics of Serial and Parallel Manipulators, Wiley, New York, [15] L. Sciavicco and B. Siciliano, Modelling and Control of Robot Manipulators, 2nd Edition, Springer-Verlag, London, [16] G. Schmierer and R. Schraft, Service Robots, A.K. Peters, Natick, MA, Robotics World.IEEE Transactions on Robotics and Automation.International Journal of Robotics Research (MIT Press). [20] ASME Journal of Dynamic Systems, Measurement, and Control. [21] International Journal of Robotics & Automation (lasted). [22] Y. Abe, M. Shikano, T. Fukuda, F. Arai, Y. Tanaka, Vision based navigation system for autonomous mobile robot with global matching, in: Proceedings of the International Conference on Robotics and Automation, Detroit, MI, 1999, pp

11 [23] J.R. Asensio, J.M.M. Montiel, L. Montano, Goal directed reactive robot navigation with relocation using laser andvision, in: Proceedings of the International Conference on Robotics and Automation, Detroit, MI, 1999, pp [24] C. Bartneck, M. Okada, Robotic user interfaces, in: Proceedings of the Human Computer Conference, [25] A. Billard, Robota: clever toy and educational tool, in: Proceedings of the IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, Lausanne, Switzerland, Also: Robotics and Autonomous Systems 42 (2003) (this issue). [26] "Four-legged Robot, 'Cheetah,' Sets New Speed Record" Reuters

JNTU World. Introduction to Robotics. Materials Provided by JNTU World Team. JNTU World JNTU World. Downloaded From JNTU World (http://(http://

JNTU World. Introduction to Robotics. Materials Provided by JNTU World Team. JNTU World JNTU World. Downloaded From JNTU World (http://(http:// Introduction to Robotics Materials Provided by Team Definition Types Uses History Key components Applications Future Robotics @ MPCRL Outline Robot Defined Word robot was coined by a Czech novelist Karel