Lesson 7: Robotic Task Mapping - Part 1
With the manual task map in hands, you are now ready to prepare its robotic equivalent: the robotic task map. The thing about robotic task mapping is that you can’t do it without knowing the layout and you can’t complete the layout without having the task map on hand! That’s why we recommend working on these two components together. To create the robotic task map, you will need to create:
- The High-level robotic cell concept
- The Robotic cell layout
- The Robotic task map (following lesson)
High-Level Robotic Cell Concept
The goal of this step is to have at least one viable cell concept that you will be able to compare with the current manual process to confirm if it's worth pursuing the concept. You achieve this step by identifying the main components of a high-level robotic concept:
- Robot(s): Which brand/model of robots has the right specifications?
- Tooling: What tooling, both on the robot and elsewhere in the cell, is necessary for the process?
- Sensors: Do you intend to do closed-loop control? Do you need position switches, vision systems, etc?
- Safety measures: Do you need fencing? Safety sensors or other safety features?
- Software: Will you use external software to manage the process, program the robot, send external requests or commands?
Evaluate all the specifications of these components and how these components will interface with the robot(s). Don't underestimate the effort since the communication challenges could lead to the non-value-added effort. Try to keep the robot cell simple. Next, describe the high-level sequence that the robot(s) will do:
- Part infeed technique: How will the parts be presented to the robot?
- Part outfeed technique: How will the parts be presented to the cell customer (next cell)?
- Process Sequences: How will the robot execute the process? Describe each step in bullet point form.
- Information flow: What information will need to be exchanged within the cell and other parts of the factory?
The Robotic Cell Layout
You probably already drafted a sketch of the robotic cell layout while working on your robotic cell concept. If you did not, now it is time to create the layout to visualize the solution. Include all the components and hardware discussed previously and include their relative position. This will be the first draft of your cell layout and will be upgraded after the Robotic Task Map.
Need some help with this step? Feel free to refer to these Blogs below:
