Gerard Vilarrassa, Product Manager at Kivnon
Mobile robots such as automated guided vehicles and autonomous mobile robots are self-driving vehicles that carry loads from one industrial operation to another.
The first generation of mobile robots improved efficiency by automating picking, bringing parts to a conventional conveyor line, and moving finished goods from the end of the production line to the warehouse for eventual shipping.
Such automation improved productivity and ergonomics by eliminating the myriad steps pickers or operators might otherwise have had to take.
However, as consumers began demanding more product variability and faster delivery, fixed conveyor systems have inherent inefficiencies that make them less suitable for these emerging needs.
Their single-stream workflow of conveyor belts also enforces rigid assembly sequences. Even though they may work on only part of the car, appliance, or whatever is on the line, line workers may have to sit idle while watching other product sections go by.
If there is a delay upstream, downstream workers may have to sit idle waiting for upstream operations to complete. All of which adds delays and costs to the operation.
Rethinking the assembly line as a configuration of distributed but integrated mobile robots changes all that, raising manufacturing efficiency, flexibility, customizability, and profitability to new heights.
Manufacturing system designers may also equip mobile robots with tools, such as robot arms that involve them in conducting the operations.
Another factor improving efficiency is that robots can work 24/7, maximizing production flow. They can perform repetitive tasks, minimizing human error that can lead to defects or rework.
Given the improvement in effectiveness, flexibility, and customization, mobile robots represent a more secure investment than a conveyor belt-based system for at least the following reasons.
Gerard Vilarrasa is the Product Manager at Kivnon. Electrical engineer with almost a decade of experience in the industrial sector, the majority of them in mobile robotics product development and management at Kivnon.
