Many people are unclear about the complex "triangular" relationship between industrial robots, PLCs, and automation. Today, we'll explain it to you. Of course, before discussing their relationship, we need to understand their individual concepts.
01. Industrial Robots
Q: What is an industrial robot?
A: An industrial robot is a multi-jointed or multi-degree-of-freedom robotic arm, a mechanical device that works through a control system and its own power, and is widely used in industrial production. One industrial robot can replace the labor of several people, working according to pre-defined standard workflows, helping to reduce defect rates and increase unit output.
Since their inception, the core structure of industrial robots has remained largely unchanged. The parts that are "visible" to the average person have hardly changed, but the "invisible" parts have undergone significant transformations. New materials, new control concepts, and new sensors have transformed modern industrial robots from simple machines into highly integrated devices similar to servers. Yes, they are servers, and the computers connected to them are devices like cameras and laser rangefinders. Industrial robots generally consist of a mechanical body and a controller.
Industrial robots are powered by many motors. Essentially, controlling an industrial robot involves controlling those motors to rotate forward, reverse, speed up, or increase their power. I believe you understand this. Therefore, to control these motors to move as you intend, you naturally need a PLC as a control platform to write the program.
Industrial robots do not work in isolation. A production line requires multiple industrial robots to work together. In addition, the production line also includes other movable parts, such as conveyor belts, AGVs, etc. How these roles cooperate with each other also requires the coordination of PLC.
02. PLC
Q: What is a PLC?
A: A PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) is a digital electronic system widely used in modern industry. A PLC contains various human-machine interface units and communication units, which control the production operation of equipment through digital or analog inputs and outputs. Its working principle can be divided into three stages: input sampling, program execution, and output refresh, and then the input sampling, execution, and output are repeated (or cycled).
A PLC can be simply understood as a small computer that can do many things. However, using a PLC to control an industrial robot is somewhat difficult. The commonly used instructions of a PLC cannot be implemented, and controlling an industrial robot requires writing many function libraries, which ordinary electrical engineers cannot do.
PLCs can meet the technical requirements of industrial robots, but industrial robots cannot achieve the comprehensive capabilities of PLCs. In other words, industrial robots are a branch of PLCs, and then further refined to create specialized development environments for robot automation. This allows developers to save significant development time while also implementing mandatory safety measures. Examples include FANUC robot systems and their own PLC systems.
03. Automation
Q: What is automation?
A: Automation is a general term for the measurement, manipulation, and other information processing and process control of machines, equipment, or production processes without direct human intervention, achieving the expected goals. Currently, "embedded systems," widely used in German and international manufacturing, completely embed mechanical or electrical components within the controlled device; they are specialized computer systems designed for specific applications.
The concept of automation is a dynamic evolution. In the past, people understood automation, or rather, its functional goal, as replacing human operation with mechanical actions to automatically complete specific tasks. This was essentially the view that automation replaced human physical labor. Later, with the development of electronics and information technology, especially with the emergence and widespread application of computers, the concept of automation has expanded to include using machines (including computers) not only to replace human physical labor but also to replace or assist mental labor in automatically completing specific tasks.
The broad connotation of automation includes at least the following points: In terms of form, manufacturing automation has three aspects: replacing manual labor, replacing or assisting mental labor, and coordinating, managing, controlling, and optimizing human-machine interaction and the entire system within a manufacturing system. In terms of function, replacing manual or mental labor is only one part of the functional objectives of automation. The functional objectives of automation are multifaceted and have formed an organic system. In terms of scope, manufacturing automation involves not only specific production processes but also all processes throughout the product lifecycle.
After reading the introductions of the three, I wonder if you can find any connection between them?
Indeed, the relationship between industrial robots, PLCs, and automation is as follows: an industrial robot is a device that executes commands; a PLC coordinates and controls these devices; and automation consists of multiple such devices and a PLC. Therefore, during production line changeovers, only changes to the PLC program and minor adjustments to the industrial robot are needed to start a new round of production.
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