Factory Robots: What They Can't Do (Yet) and How to Make Them Better

Factory Robots: What They Can't Do (Yet) and How to Make Them Better

Almost all factories today use robots, from making cars to plastics and medical tools. Robots help factories a lot and are making "smart factories" in the future possible. But, companies need to think about what robots can't do when they choose which robots to use.

Experts think that the market for factory robots will become very big by 2028. This is because more companies want to use machines to do work automatically. When companies see how robots can help them, it's also important to know what problems robots have.

In this article, we will talk about three main problems with factory robots: how much they cost, how safe they are, and how hard it can be to teach people to work with them. Understanding these problems will help us see how companies can make things better.

1) How Much Factory Robots Cost

Buying factory robots often costs a lot of money at first. This includes buying the robot and paying for someone to put it in place and set it up. Also, companies need to pay to keep the robots working. How much this costs depends on how complex the robot is and how much it is used. Over time, these costs can become a big part of how much the robot costs in total.

Also, robots often need extra parts, like special tools for their arms or special sensors. These extra parts can make the cost even higher.

The robot industry is always changing, with newer and better robots coming out all the time. For some companies, especially small ones, it can be hard to keep buying new robots. They might risk losing all their money trying to keep up with the latest technology.

Can Robots Be Affordable?

Even though they cost a lot at first, factory robots can help companies save money in other ways. They can make making things cheaper and help companies earn more money by making work better. If a company plans carefully how to buy robots and manage their money, the robots will probably start saving them money quickly.

Another way to save money is to buy robots that have been used before and fixed up (reconditioned robots). These robots can work almost as well as new ones but cost much less.

2) How Safe are Factory Robots?

People have always thought that factory robots could be dangerous in factories. And there is a good reason for this – they are big, strong machines that can move very fast.

Older robots didn't even have the ability to feel if a person was close. This made them likely to hit people and cause accidents. Because of this, many companies put fences or walls around robots to keep them away from the people working there. This makes the factory safer.

But, new technology has led to the creation of collaborative robots (also called cobots). These robots are made so that people can work with them safely. Making both regular factory robots and cobots safer also involves following safety rules.

Even though robots are not completely safe yet, there are many good ways to make them safer for people. This includes new technologies like light curtains, laser scanners, and sensors that can feel if someone is there.

Also, companies can do careful checks of their production lines to find ways to make the workplace safer. It also helps to teach workers what to do if an accident might happen.

By using many of these ideas, companies can slowly make their workplaces safer for workers and create a more secure and productive place where robots are used.

3) Teaching People to Work with Factory Robots

Factory robots need experts to program them and teach them what to do. This means companies need to hire experienced engineers and programmers when they first install robots. Even people who know a lot about robots might need to learn new things when new software or robot models come out. If robots are programmed incorrectly, they might not work right and could be dangerous for people working nearby.

Recently, a new way to teach robots has appeared – no-code or low-code programming. This lets workers who don't know much about coding set up a robot by using pictures and dragging and dropping things on a computer screen.

You can easily move the arm of a robot to teach it to do different jobs. This is because no-code and low-code platforms are easy to use. In the past, companies might have needed many robots for different tasks. Now, someone who is not a technical expert can make a simple change to the robot, saving the company time, space, and money.

More and more companies are using low-code and no-code platforms. This is because 84% of businesses in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia have started using these easy ways to program. Because of this, the amount of actual coding that is needed will become less.

Conclusion

There is no question that factory robots have many benefits. They make production faster and help companies get their money back quickly. But, it is very important to deal with the problems that robots have. Companies can solve the challenges of using factory robots and use them fully to build smart factories in the future.

This can be done by planning carefully and looking for ways to save money. It is also important to make safety a top priority and to use new technologies to teach people how to work with robots.

You can learn more about the latest news in factory robots by visiting EU Automation.