Machine manufacturers are facing increasing market pressure to make machines more flexible, more economical, and more productive simultaneously. These seemingly conflicting goals can be addressed using robots. The only problem is that robots typically require extensive programming and are difficult to integrate into automated machine systems. “Robotics is a complex discipline involving mechatronics and software integration,” explains Sebastian Brandstetter, Product Manager for Integrated Robotics at B&R. “Yet until now, robots and machines have been separate systems.” For decades, robots have been standard on large-scale automotive production lines, but rarely have they been seen as components of machines.
Machines and robots combined into one
Two independent systems
Several years ago, machine manufacturers began integrating robots directly into machine processes to make their machines more flexible. However, this flexibility came at a high cost, and the resulting synchronization had many shortcomings. “A robot is a self-contained system,” Brandstetter explains. It has its own controller and its own control cabinet. Engineering, diagnostics, and maintenance are all performed using dedicated systems. Communication with the machine controller requires an interface—in many cases, even hardwired.
For those seeking a more preferable approach to integrating robotics, the answer is clear: the two systems must be combined into one. “We need a simple architecture,” Brandstetter concludes.
Sebastian Brandstetter, Product Manager of Integrated Robotics at B&R
Two into one
“We can now offer ABB robots as part of our automation systems,” Brandstetter explained. Using the robot is the same throughout the engineering and operation process as using any other B&R automation component. “For machine developers, there is no difference whether it’s integrating a single motion control axis or an entire robot into the machine,” Brandstetter noted. “The tools, the engineering environment, and the B&R contacts remain consistent.”
B&R customers can choose from a variety of multi-joint, SCARA, Delta, and palletizing robots in various sizes and load capacities.
Familiar environment
Integration eliminates the need for dedicated robot controllers, separate control cabinets, and specialized robot language experts. Users can utilize all familiar machine programming languages, such as ladder diagrams, structured text, and C/C++.
To further facilitate the integration of ABB robots into machine automation solutions, B&R also offers pre-configured software modules that make it easier for machine manufacturers to create robot applications. B&R's mapp Robotics includes standard functions for control and debugging, as well as advanced features such as feedforward control, compression, and workspace monitoring. Users can implement complex and highly dynamic applications without writing lines of code, significantly reducing development time.
ABB robots are fully integrated into B&R systems.
Close synchronization
“More human-like programming is a decisive advantage in combining robotics with machine control,” Brandstetter said. “Another key difference is the unprecedented precision in synchronization that can be achieved between robots and other machine components.”
You no longer need separate hardware, separate communication networks, and separate applications. All axes and sensors communicate on the same network, which improves accuracy to previously unimaginable microsecond levels. "This opens up entirely new possibilities," Brandstetter points out.
Parallel processing
For example, previously, workpieces on a workbench needed to be positioned and completely stopped before being processed by a robot. Now, processing can be performed while both the workbench and the robot are in motion. The machine application can automatically calculate optimized motion curves and significantly reduce overall processing time. As a result, productivity is increased. "Of course, this principle also applies when you combine ABB robots with track systems like ACOPOStrak," Brandstetter added.
The robot can process the workpiece as it moves at high speed along the track. The track then becomes an additional axis included in the motion curve calculation.
Synchronize with sensors
Synchronization between sensors and robot motion will also become easier. Defect detection results using B&R vision cameras can be translated into control commands for ABB robots in less than a millisecond. Defective workpieces can be removed from the production process without any human intervention or slowing it down. “This approach can significantly increase machine throughput,” Brandstetter said.
Like all other automated components, the robot can be fully integrated into the B&R system.
Of course, the extensive simulation capabilities available in B&R systems can also be applied to robotics. With digital twins, users can simulate and optimize the entire motion process of a machine, including robotics, even before manufacturing it. Development will become faster and cheaper.
