The Essentials of Integrating a Robot into your Process
The reasons for automating manual processes are well known at this point. For tasks that are the 4D’s – dull, dirty, dangerous or difficult to fill – a robot or other automation solution makes sense from a financial, quality and efficiency standpoint. You could almost say that robots are commonplace these days! However, choosing the right robot and integrating it into your process is anything but easy.
There are many different types of robots on the market – industrial, collaborative, SCARA, mobile and more – each suited for different tasks. In addition, there are many different brands of robots out there, each with their own specialties, their own software and their own quirks. It’s important to work with a company which looks at your automation project based on the task needed, rather than shoe-horning a particular robot into it.
And don’t forget, automation is much more than a robot. Sometimes a custom precision motion control solution will work better for your application than a robot or will have a better ROI.
But choosing the right motion component is only the first step.
Unless you have a large team of automation engineers on staff (and sometimes when you do), integrating your new automation project into your existing process requires specialist knowledge. From the hardware to the software to the safety systems and peripherals, each component must be tied together and communicating seamlessly to achieve the desired result.
What's New at Cross
Accredited Pi Tape Calibration
Diameter tapes, commonly known as Pi Tapes, are used to find the diameter of an object based on the circumference. Using the formula for pi, the graduations on these tapes act as a vernier scale to quickly find the diameter. Cross Precision Measurement now offers ISO-17025 accredited calibration and NIST-traceable calibration of pi tapes up to 72″.
New Method to Test Surface Conditions of Gears
The roughness of gears plays a pivotal role in the efficiency, torque, power throughput, and noise emissions of electric motors and transmissions. However, traditional measurement systems have struggled to achieve the high precision and repeatability required for modern applications.
Cross partner Mahr has developed a unique solution for measuring the roughness on gears which can measure surfaces with a submicron Rz finishes, down to the ground tooth root and fine waviness on gears.
Did you know?
Increase Throughput and Improve Efficiency in Leak Testing
Automotive parts manufacturers are frequently asked to document a part’s pressure or leak integrity prior to delivery. However, testing products like manifolds, filters and gear cases can be both prone to error and time consuming.
Cross partner Brooks Instrument worked with a fuel filter manufacturer to streamlilne their leak testing. Instead of a differential pressure method in a test chamber, Brooks recommended a mass flow testing method. Using this, the customer doubled throughput, reduced labor and improved accuracy.
High Accuracy, High Resolution Blue Laser CMM Scanner
Cross partner LK Metrology has just released their new SLK25 blue light laser CMM scanner, designed specifically for high-precision parts with small and complex geometries. It features a high frequency 450um blue laser for ultra sharp data quality even on the dark, transparent and highly reflective surfaces.
In addition, the high density point clouds it generates ensures that even the smallest and most intricate parts are measured in great detail. With a 90° mounting adapter, it can be used in applications which require either a horizontal or vertical laser line direction.
Cross Provides Tangible Value for You
Improve Efficiency
Schunk’s new BSWS-R allows the jaws of a gripper on a robot or axis gantry to be changed automatically which is much faster than changing the entire gripper. This increases flexibility, as a single gripper can be used for various applications and saves time when converting between them, as different workpieces can be handled by simply changing the gripper fingers. It also has a PGN-plus-P fingerprint, making it fully compatible with a wide range of other Schunk grippers for retrofits.
Raise Quality
Need someone to train your team to use a Faro portable CMM or Polyworks? Contact the inspection team at Cross. As you can see from the article above, our inspection experts work with Faro arms daily and would be glad to train your team on the basics of using them.
Polyworks is fast becoming the industry standard for inspection software. It’s tremendously powerful and once you know how to use it, pretty intuitive. If your team needs training on Polyworks, we can help with that, too!
Raise Quality
A manufacturer of rough terrain cranes was experiencing shutdowns during cold testing of their machines. Cross partner Schroeder Industries worked with them to identify that their current filtration solution had leaking seals, which pulled cold air directly into the fuel system.
Schroeder rapidly modified their existing HPD BC solution to perform in extreme conditions and then private labelled it. This earned an additional $47k per year in aftermarket sales while providing a solution which stood up to the tough conditions.
