Common Robots and Increase Robotics mentioned the autonomous system pays for itself inside one 13-floor undertaking. | Supply: Common Robots
As much as 1,000 ft. into the air, development staff want intensive security rigging to put in glass panel brackets. This important process not solely places workers at risk, but it surely’s additionally repetitive and boring. To maintain staff secure and permit them to do extra high-value work, Harmon Inc., a U.S.-based glazing firm, is automating the method with expertise from Increase Robotics and Common Robots A/S.
Harmon is an early adopter of this expertise, and to this point, mentioned it has seen a quick return on funding (ROI). As well as, the Bloomington, Minn.-based constructing façade firm mentioned the robotic system has improved employee security, in addition to consistency and precision in set up. The three companions mentioned the robots present a 3x multiplier on handbook labor and supply a payoff inside one 13-floor undertaking.
Historically, to put in fasteners for glass façade panels on high-rise buildings, staff must align, drill, and torque brackets in place to specific specs, all whereas hanging off the aspect of a constructing. Not solely is the job not ergonomic, however there’s additionally a major likelihood for harm if a software or bracket falls to the bottom under, the place different staff could also be.
“Security is all the time first in thoughts,” mentioned Don Birmingham, normal superintendent at Harmon. “In the event you can effectively do a job and take all the security dangers out of it, I feel any contractor would join that. So far as the employees, I feel they’d a lot somewhat be contained in the handrail working a robotic than hanging off the sting of the constructing.”
Increase Robotics makes use of two UR20 arms
Increase Robotics makes use of two UR20 collaborative robotic arms from Common Robots for the progressive development platform. The San Francisco-based firm has mounted these two cobots on every cell robotic base. The small footprint and management containers of the UR20 make them simple to combine right into a cell utility.
“As a result of Common Robots has carried out an ideal job of constructing their arms very power-efficient, in addition to making it simple to combine right into a DC energy answer, we are able to straight join our arms to the battery and have our robots working totally, wirelessly on a development web site,” mentioned Gary Chen, co-founder of Increase Robotics.
As well as, the UR20’s IP65 score offers confidence for Increase’s clients in utilizing the robots even in inclement environments together with mud and rain, in addition to excessive temperatures. The corporate has run the robotic efficiently from 20°F under zero as much as 120°F.
To develop its system, Increase mentioned it used all kinds of sources from Common Robots, together with on-line technical documentation and help through myUR. It additionally used the boards on each the Common Robots web site in addition to their GitHub.
“Assist from UR has been unbelievable,” famous Conley Oster, the co-founder of Increase Robotics. “Any points that we bumped into or any questions that we had early on, we had a devoted purposes engineer from UR that was in a position to assist us. The UR neighborhood and boards have been extraordinarily useful to us as effectively. We have been all the time in a position to provide you with an answer in a well timed method.”
Harmon says robotics reduces handbook necessities
Harmon reported quite a few enhancements since deploying the Increase Robotics system. For instance, the handbook set up course of for façade brackets usually requires two to 4 staff. As compared, the robotic requires just one individual to handle it per set up location.
“It’s a 3x multiplier on conventional labor,” mentioned Oster. That multiplier offers quick ROI for the robotic, usually offering breakeven for the robotic at about 13 flooring primarily based on a month-to-month lease and amortizing the robotic throughout the variety of installations on every flooring.
The system didn’t simply work quicker than handbook labor; it was additionally extra correct, exact, and constant, the businesses mentioned.
“In handbook installs, round 30% of all fasteners usually aren’t put in in the best spot,” Oster mentioned. “Utilizing a robotic like ours along with whole stations permits us to precisely place fasteners on the constructing’s edge or throughout the constructing’s core. We are able to set up inside plus or minus three-sixteenths of an inch, which is way superior to what we’ve seen in handbook installations.”
Lastly, the system additionally consists of software program that gives fast perception and historic logs of on-site information. This provides precise torque values and alignment for each bracket in actual time, versus random high quality inspections which might be usually carried out just a few occasions on every flooring.
Harmon had “as-built” information, which allowed its group to regulate anchor positioning earlier than the glass partitions have been put in.
“I feel probably the most profit we received was the experiences of the place the anchors have been put in,” Harmon’s Birmingham mentioned. “The earlier we discovered any deviations past specs, the better it was to eradicate them going ahead.”
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