SCHUNK
Canvas Category Machinery : Industrial Robot : Robot Arm
SCHUNK is the international technology leader in toolholding and workholding, gripping technology and automation technology. Approximately 3,500 employees in 9 plants and 34 directly owned subsidiaries and distribution partners in more than 50 countries throughout the world ensure an intensive market presence. Shaping the future with innovative technologies – that is the claim of SCHUNK. To this end, the family-owned company is pushing the agile further development and digitalization of its product and service portfolio in order to make industrial processes more efficient, transparent and sustainable. SCHUNK is facing the current and future challenges together with its customers and partners: Hand in hand for tomorrow! Through its pioneering spirit and innovative strength, SCHUNK continues to set new benchmarks in productivity optimization for its customers. These customers benefit from an integrated range of components, applications and services. The profound SCHUNK expertise that has grown over decades is the foundation for growth in a number of areas. The automation and production specialist is a reliable partner across the entire supply chain in numerous industries such as automotive, electronics, life science, aerospace and logistics. SCHUNK has its roots at its headquarters in Lauffen/Neckar. The company was founded here in 1945 by Friedrich Schunk as a mechanical workshop. Under the management of his son Heinz-Dieter Schunk, SCHUNK evolved into a global player and the world’s leading technology supplier for robots and production systems. Today, the company is run by the third generation, siblings Kristina I. Schunk and Henrik A. Schunk, the founder’s grandchildren. SCHUNK is firmly anchored in its home region as a socially committed and responsible employer.
Assembly Line
Design for Robotic Assembly
In reality, equating the abilities of robots and human assemblers is risky. What’s easy for a human assembler can be difficult or impossible for a robot, and vice versa. To ensure success with robotic assembly, engineers must adapt their parts, products and processes to the unique requirements of the robot.
Reorienting an assembly adds cycle time without adding value. It also increases the cost of the fixtures. And, instead of a SCARA or Cartesian robot, assemblers may need a more expensive six-axis robot.
Robotic grippers are not as nimble as human hands, and some parts are easier for robots to grip than others. A part with two parallel surfaces can be handled by a two-fingered gripper. A circular part can be handled by its outside edges, or, if it has a hole in the middle, its inside edges. Adding a small lip to a part can help a gripper reliably manipulate the part and increase the efficiency of the system. If the robot will handle more than one type of part, the parts should be designed so they can all be manipulated with the same gripper. A servo-driven gripper could also help in that situation, since engineers can program stroke length and gripping force.