Industrial & collaborative robots set off a "collaboration & intelligence" storm at CIMT2023

On April 10, CIMT2023 opened grandly, and & Collaboration set off a storm of "collaboration &" at CIMT2023.

This exhibition not only brought together many well-known companies and leading brands in the machine tool industry, but also a number of industrial and collaborative robot companies. The technologies and application cases brought by these companies proved that robots are the key driving force in helping the metal processing industry upgrade, move towards high-end and realize intelligent manufacturing. At the same time, it demonstrated the broad prospects of industrial and collaborative robots in the field of machine tools.

Industrial & collaborative robots have developed rapidly in recent years, and their applications have gradually penetrated into various fields. In the field of machine tools, the application of industrial & collaborative robots is becoming more and more extensive. Traditional machine tool processing methods rely on manual operation, with low production efficiency and unstable precision, and the application of industrial & collaborative robots can make up for these shortcomings.

At this exhibition, many robot companies demonstrated the latest robot technology and application scenarios. Some robot companies displayed new automated robot systems that can combine automated processing with manual processing to improve production efficiency, while reducing the interference of manual operations on production and improving processing stability and consistency.

Some robot companies have demonstrated a new type of robot clamping system that can automatically grab and place parts on the automated production line, realizing the complete autonomy of the automated production line and greatly improving production efficiency and product quality.

Other robot supporting enterprises displayed robot visual recognition systems, flexible fixture systems and robot end effector kits. The application of these technologies can not only improve the efficiency and accuracy of machine tool processing, but also provide strong support for the intelligent upgrade of traditional manufacturing industry.

It can be seen that the application of industrial and collaborative robots in the field of machine tools has gradually matured. With the continuous advancement and popularization of technology, robots will play an increasingly important role in the intelligent upgrade of traditional manufacturing. Many robot companies have launched integrated solutions for digital manufacturing.

Through on-site visits, we found that industrial and collaborative robots are widely used in scenarios such as material grabbing, machine tool loading and unloading, intelligent detection, tool quick change systems, screw tightening, welding, grinding, high-temperature castings and forgings in machine tool factories.

The following introduces the application of each scenario.

Material grabbing: Currently, robots can play an important role in material grabbing in machine tool factories. Through flexible robot arms and multiple joints to achieve precise operation, various materials and workpieces can be quickly grabbed, moved and placed to achieve automated production. In machine tool factories, they are usually used to grab workpieces from storage racks or conveyor lines and place them on the machine tool workbench for processing. For example, ABB's robot arms can accurately grab, move and place workpieces according to preset paths to achieve efficient production.

Loading and unloading of machine tools: Loading and unloading of machine tools is one of the important application scenarios of robots in machine tool factories. It is necessary to select the appropriate robot type and fixture according to the type of machine tool and the shape of the workpiece to realize automatic loading and unloading of the machine tool. The robot can feed raw materials or finished workpieces into or out of the machine tool and send them to the next process flow. Robots can be used for automated loading and unloading of machine tools in machine tool factories to reduce manual operations and improve production efficiency. At the same time, they can also be integrated with machine tools to realize automatic control and monitoring of the processing process, improving production efficiency and quality.

Intelligence: Robots can be used for intelligent detection operations on machine tools. This means selecting the appropriate robot type and according to different detection requirements to achieve automatic detection and measurement of workpiece size, shape, surface quality, etc. For example, automated dimension detection, surface detection and other operations are performed on machine tools to ensure the stability and consistency of processing quality and product quality. At the same time, they can also be integrated with data processing systems to achieve automatic analysis and feedback of detection results, improving production efficiency and quality.

Tool changing system: According to the type of machine tool and tool type, select the appropriate robot type and fixture. The robot can be installed around the machine tool. Through the operation of the robot arm, the tool is taken out of the tool magazine and installed on the machine tool, and the used tool is put back into the tool magazine to realize automatic tool changing operation, saving manual time and labor. At the same time, they can also be integrated with the machine tool control system to realize automatic control and monitoring of the tool changing process, improving production efficiency and quality.

Screwing: The robot can be used for screwing operations on machine tools with appropriate tools, such as electric screwdrivers or pneumatic screwdrivers, to achieve automation. This is very useful for some precision products, such as the production of products such as, etc. The robot automatically tightens various screws to improve production efficiency. For example, FANUC's robot can automatically tighten screws according to the preset path, and detect and measure the screws to ensure product quality.

Welding: Studies have shown that half of industrial robots are used in various welding operations, including MIG, G and laser welding. Robots can accurately control the welding position and angle through high-precision operation to achieve high-quality welding.

Grinding: The robot can complete the automatic grinding operation by installing the corresponding grinding tools or polishing tools. For example, the grinding of automobile bodies, the grinding of parts, etc. The robot performs automatic grinding operations to ensure the grinding quality and production efficiency.

High temperature castings and forgings: The robot can use gloves and tools made of fireproof materials, high temperature ceramics and other high temperature resistant materials to handle high temperature castings and forgings, such as heat treatment, castings and forgings, baking varnish, etc. The automated operation of the robot ensures product quality and production efficiency. Of course, there are also handling, palletizing and packaging, etc.

In general, these robots can realize automated production, improve production efficiency, reduce costs in metal processing, and alleviate the difficulties of hiring and recruiting workers.

From CIMT2023, we can see that there are industrial and collaborative robots on display in many booths. The popularity of the robot track stems from many reasons, but it is inseparable from the industry demand driven by the development trend of automation and intelligence. From the on-site visits, we can see that machine tool companies that have already laid out automated production lines will pay more attention to the technical progress and application of industrial and collaborative robots compared to companies that have not laid out automated production lines.

So what is the penetration rate of industrial and collaborative robots in the metal processing industry?

Yu Xingguo, a metal processing consultant, has worked in many machine tool companies in recent years. In an interview, he said that the demand of the metal processing industry is no longer in the era of mass replication. More personalized demands have led to the fact that robots have not been popularized in various machine tool factories, except for the automobile production lines in dark factories. Regarding this view, during the reporter's visit, many machine tool companies said that they have not yet deployed robots. Not only that, when the reporter visited Juneng Co., Ltd., a domestic robot company that recently passed the review of the Beijing Stock Exchange, the company also expressed a similar view.

However, according to Jinfen Shenxian, who has many years of experience in the production line of mechanical processing plants, collaborative robots are now widely used in loading and unloading machine tools in the metal processing process. In addition, in the production process of aluminum die-casting auto parts, due to the high temperature, robotic arms are generally used for die-casting and material extraction. According to another Jinfen Niuniuniu person from the front line of special industrial production with rich work experience, robots are widely used in production line projects in dangerous places.

At this CIMT, reporters visited the site and found that many traditional metal processing companies have deployed industrial or collaborative robots. For example, PAMA machine tools have been equipped with industrial robots for collaborative work. Ms. Zhang Jingjuan, President of Hardinge Asia Pacific, said that Hardinge has a good development momentum in the field of intelligent manufacturing and is very concerned about the technological progress of industrial and collaborative robots. Gree has already deployed the industrial robot business segment. Dalian Guangyang Automation Hydraulic Systems Co., Ltd. and Qiaofeng Intelligent Equipment Co., Ltd. have both stated that they have deployed collaborative robots. ‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍