Development of a flexible and adaptive robotic cell for marine nozzles processing

Abstract

The development of manufacturing processes is evolving in parallel with the emergence of new technologies. Until now, robot technology is inexorably linked to the manufacturing of large series, commonly linked to Large Enterprises (LE), due to the need for complex positioning tools and highly skilled robotic operators. These circumstances result in extra costs if a change in the part to be processed occurs - i.e. small batches -, which cannot be assumed for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SME) and establish a technological and economical barrier to robotics. To enable robotics to penetrate in this kind of demanding market, a new approach is described that defines a new concept of hyper-flexible cell.