Robotics

Generally speaking, robotics means all techniques and processes involved in the design of robots or automatic machines. The industrial robot allows realizing very complex machining operations, processing (painting, etc.), and assembly. ISO defines industrial robotics as an automatic control, reprogrammable, multipurpose, programmable manipulator in three or more axes. Robotic systems offer different industry stakeholders who use them the opportunity to increase their productivity, especially at sensitive manufacturing stages (hard shaping, dangerous environment for the human, etc.). Pressing, welding, and painting are among the many applications dedicated to industrial robots. The assembly, as well, is part of the tasks entrusted to this type of machines, which operate, among others, in the automotive and aeronautics industries. The industrial robot is in fact a necessary tool in those fields where it is able to take in charge repeated precision operations while maintaining a very high degree of quality by asserting their high modularity. The two main components of an industrial robot are the mechanical and the digital part. The mechanical part is made up of an articulated arm consisting of, in most cases, 6 degrees of freedom, 3 translational axes and 3 other rotational axes for the full evolution in space. The digital part is managed by a central unit, which organizes the operations to be realized taking into account the feedbacks from electronic servo-control. The companies Stäubli, Bosch, Dürr, Comau, CloosGmbH, Promot, Hyundai Robotics, Epson Robots, FANUC, Mitsubishi Electric, Yamaha MotorCompany, Reis Robotics, Toshiba Machine, LUCAS France, Fuji YusokiRobotics, and ABB Robotics are among the major manufacturers of industrial robots. The second-hand equipments are fully checked in order to provide a quality level close to that of first-hand machines.