Ensuring Efficiency and Reliability: Essential Spare Parts for Industrial Robots

 Why And Which Robot Parts Should be Kept as Spares?

 Ⅰ. Introduction

1. A brief overview of industrial robots in manufacturing

The industrial robots were firstly used in 1950’s. The main idea was taken from the servo systems. George devol & joseph F. englberger jointly made an industrial robot by the name of unimate. Unimate became popular in 1961 as its use was started on the production line of general motors, U.S.A,. The earliest industrial robot was very simple in its shape & its overall function was to collect auto parts and position them on the production line conveyor belt.

After that Robots have been in multi-dimensional uses, especially the industrial robots due to which the industrial manufacturing has been revolutionized.

2. The crucial role of spare parts in industrial robot maintenance

A professional or technical personal is supposed to have the following five types of spare parts in use of any emergency or incident.      

• Teach Pendant / Box

A teach pendant is a crucial part related to any Industrial Robot working & it should be available as a spare part along with its fully functional control cable & connector because sometimes a professional/working personal faces difficulties in connectivity between the controller & robot due to any malfunction in the teach pendant/box.

• Consumables

Consumable materials should be near by as a stock e.g., a welding wire in case of an industrial welding robot.    

• Robot Grade Grease

A robot grease is an important component for seamless working of an industrial robot. There are different types of greases for different robot applications as industrial robots need special purpose heavy duty grease.  

• Motors

Routers, amplifiers & motors are critical for continuous robot functions & movements. Sometimes especially a servo motor burn out hampering the smooth operation of robot. So different servo motors related to that robot should be close by as spare parts as & when needed.   

• Robot Batteries

It’s an excellent idea to have in inventory/Storage additional robot batteries for robot control cabinet / controller & robot arm. As such additional robot batteries will thus in turn keep the robot in perfect working order with lesser down time as robot controller & arm related batteries are easy to store & interchange with the weak / old / wearied out batteries.

3. The Conclusion of the above discussion

 The essence of above sentences is that robot spare parts should be in storage which are below listed in detail,

• Robot arm & controller batteries
• All types of robots work related cables, teach pendant or teach box
• Robot grade heavy duty grease specially for six-axis robot
• Servo motors
• End-effector Parts e.g., contact tips, pads & suction cups
• Welding consumables such as shielding gas, liners & welding wire for robots specifically dedicated to welding or arc welding, which is a highly customized & exclusive work..

II. The importance of Spare Parts for Industrial Robots

 1. Ensuring uninterrupted production

Industrial robots play a pivotal role in modern manufacturing, contributing to increased efficiency, precision, and overall productivity. The seamless operation of these robots is crucial for ensuring uninterrupted production lines. Spare parts, such as those for teach pendants, robot batteries, motors, and consumables, become indispensable in minimizing downtime and maintaining a continuous workflow.

 2. Downtime costs and production losses

The expenses of on-site service & refurbishment typically includes downtime loss, maintenance cost and expert cost.

As such Downtime loss includes production loss & Waste of manpower. The maintenance expenditure includes testing cost & cost of Material. 

Expert cost is inclusive of sometimes travel expenses, additional costs & workmanship costs. So, it is obvious that on-site maintenance cost of a robot result in downtime loss, loss of production & as well as wastage of time. 

Although robot maintenance can be carried out remotely, but then the cost-benefit strategy is used to study and calculate cost-benefit framework of two maintenance methodology.

 3. Mitigating the risks of unexpected breakdowns

The processionals / technical personnel are required to inspect on regular basis especially the moving parts of an industrial robot.

E.g., servo motors, control cabinet / controller, all electrical cables going to & coming from a robot, teach pendant / box proper functionality & its control cable & connector so that an industrial robot work at its’ peak level without any breakdown & fault.     

4. Extending the robot's lifespan and Preventing Wear/Tear and Damage

An Industrial Robot needs more or less inspection & care on daily 

Basis especially for loose nut / bolts, dirt or any solid / semisolid residue left over the robot body after production. Such dirty waste should be cleaned with a damped clean cloth &/or vacuum cleaner.

Therefore, a complete (DI) Daily Inspection of an industrial robot results in optimal robot performance & production.   

5. Enhancing overall robot operational efficiency

To get throughput robot work efficiency it is very important to consider in mind some factors which are below.

• Robot Model

Selecting the accurate & precise model of the robot is a best idea for the intended industrial Application where the robot is going to be installed & will be operational & working.

• Speed & Accuracy

Different models and variants of industrial robots have different operational speeds & characteristics thus having a direct influence on industrial production.        

• Payload

Different models of industrial robots have different payload capacity i.e., from 0.5 Kg’s to Max. 2500 Kg’s which work in automobile assembly plants. So, the higher is the payload capacity of a robot the higher will be its costs (to purchase).

• Compatibility, Reach & Flexibility

Different Models and types of industrial robots have different compatibility, working flexibility & reach limit while working in industrial surroundings.  

Different industrial robots are put to work by different controllers operating on different software’s configured for taking maximum industrial productivity from that specific industrial robot. PLC’s & external standalone drive modules are also an integral part of the whole robot base automation process. An industrial robot while working will reach to that limit in movements as set by the

controller & the robot maximum capacity which it has got due to its overall size.                                   

III. Recommended Spare Parts List

Following additional spares should be at hand near by the operating robot operating area.

1. Servo Motors

There is a lot of working loads on robot servo motors as the servo motors work with variable speed at different times according to the payload, workability, movement, Tilting, circular, joint & linear movements & so on.

2. Teach Pendants/Box

 A teach pendant is the most important device in industrial robotics. When an industrial robot is set to test / teach mode with a teach pendant we can program or update or configure or reconfigure or step by step check the mobility, tilting, robotic arm max, reaching, stretching and so on. So, an extra fully functional teach pendant along with control or connectivity cable & cable connector.

 

    

3. Robot Batteries

Its always better to have spare new spare robot batteries as an essential small sized item. Robot batteries are used for such items of a robot which require a lowest current. A Robot battery is typically of 9 volts D.C., battery & it provides D.C., current for different robot motion sensors, for the robot microprocessor & different servo motors sensors.

4. Consumables

Consumables in Robotics mean an item which is used or consumed while an industrial robot operates with a dynamic speed. One of the most important consumable is the Welding Wire in case of a industrial welding robot. So robot extra welding wire should be at hand so that the robot doesn’t stop.

5. Electric & Delicate Cables

Different assorted heavy duty electric & delicate cables should be also present on the robot production site in case any of the cables gets faulty or burn out due to overload or prolonged usage.