How to Integrate Cobot?

How to Integrate Cobot?

For modern businesses looking to increase efficiency without sacrificing quality outcomes, cobots (collaborative robots) can be a great addition to business processes. Cobots can perform repetitive tasks for extended periods of time without wearying or diminishing quality. Many businesses find that integrating cobots into their processes also frees up their human workforce for more nuanced and executive thinking tasks. With cobots assisting businesses to maintain their competitive edge, the question arises, how to integrate cobot?

Preparing For Cobot Integration

Cobots are robots that work collaboratively with their human counterparts. To optimise successful integration of cobots into your existing work processes there are several steps involved. Let’s have a closer look at how to integrate cobot into your business.

Planning Phase

There must first be careful consideration given to what you hope to achieve through integrating cobots. This answer may vary from industry to industry and for individual businesses. Essentially, what is the task you are trying to automate?

This may be based on risk assessments where repetition of a task or close use of a particular machine poses occupational safety risks for the workforce. Choosing a cobot that can be trained to perform those tasks minimises the risk for staff while also increasing efficiency of production.

The cobot your business chooses must be of a size that can fit in the required space, perform its functions without obstructions, and safely operate beside its human collaborator. The planning phase is also the time you identify and source the correct end-of-arm tooling for the cobot to perform the task. This may be a function for picking and placing, it may be a fine tool for securing electronics, or it may a welding arc to name a few.

Installation and Setup

Once your business has planned for and purchased the cobot, the next step is how to integrate cobot into your workflow through installation and setup. There are professional integration companies such as Cyber-Weld that can assist with this step. Alternatively, many cobots can be successfully installed and set up by your staff or technical team following manufacturer’s directions. With the cobot in place, any adjustments to the workspace can be identified and actioned to ensure smooth and efficient production.

Programming and Training

Once the cobot is installed in its workspace, the collaborative process really begins. This is where the staff physically takes the cobot arm through the stages of the required task and enters the starting and end points into the software programming cobot. The cobot is programmed and the staff are trained to work together to ensure that the functions are performed with consistent precision, accuracy, and safety.

Post-Integration Maintenance and Support

To get the most value and reduce any unscheduled downtime for your cobot-integrated business, it is important to ensure ongoing maintenance and support. At Cyber-Weld, we choose only trusted suppliers with current ISO certificates to ensure a quality cobot integration and post-integration maintenance and support you can rely on.

How Cyber-Weld Can Help You With Your Cobot Integration Questions

At Cyber-Weld, we’ve been supplying robotics and more recently cobots globally for 25 years to give quality, precision welds our partners rely on. Contact Cyber-Weld today to find out more about how to integrate cobot into your business.