Archive for April, 2008

What You Need To Know About Robots

Saturday, April 12th, 2008

The first instance of a modern robot was the equipment that was visible in clocks kept in medieval churches. This was an innovative discovery of clever watchmakers of those times who applied the theory of automation into practice. The word “robot” is derived from the Czech word “Robota”, which means “compulsory labor.” Karel Capek, a Czech author and dramatist first used this term in his 1921 play, Rossum’s Universal Robots. Since then, the term has been used to refer to any equipment that accomplishes tasks with a great degree of ease; these tasks are often the sort that a human being may find complicated or undesirable.

Robot is also a term used to classify appliances that resemble human beings. The earliest robots used a feedback control mechanism and this technology is still in use today. The first known usage of this program was in the robot called Watt Governor, which was created in 1788, by a Scottish engineer, James Watt.

Robots are monitored and controlled by a computer. The software program in a robot enables it to move, maneuver things and complete tasks with precision. Robots are very productive when a job involves monotonous repetitive tasks. Robots are popular for this very reason. They can perform repetitive jobs faster and more efficiently than human beings and are inexpensive as their maintenance costs is much lesser than the recurring costs of labor.

With expansion in technology, dedicated equipment was invented to enact specific human actions. For instance, robots have been developed to simulate the human arm and its actions. However, these products were not robust and were not successful in replicating the human arm movements. This limited the output of these appliances. The emergence of multi-jointed artificial robots paved the way for modern robots. Robots are used in military, space exploration and outer space journeys, as well as hauling and transportation. Robots also have medical applications and are used in all sorts of mechanized industries. With the increase in demand for automation, various types of robots have been invented. This includes Cartesian, gantry, cylindrical, spherical, polar, articulated, SCARA and parallel robots. Though robot technology has not matched the expectations generated by the initial euphoria of scientists, it is constantly evolving through innovation and research.

Article Source: ezinearticles.com/?What-You-Need-To-Know-About-Robots&id=270119

Welding Robots

Friday, April 11th, 2008

Welding robots are used in industrial welding processes and facilitate automatic welding. Welding robots work on the principle of robotics and are controlled by robotic equipment. They work on the algorithm, which is required for the computation of work command. Welding robots are designed so that they can operate under various conditions at high duty cycles.

There are two popular types of welding robots that are usually useful in industrial welding. They are “arc welding robots” and “spot welding robots.” These two welding robots are classified according to articulating robots and rectilinear robots on the basis of rotation of wrist in space.

Welding robots perform their tasks more repeatedly than a manual welder because of the repetitive program and monotony of the task. Welding robots offer many benefits to customers that include consistency and quality of welding, reduction of production costs, fewer scrapped parts, and an increase on your returns on investment. Welding robots also possess repeatability and consistent positional accuracy, which provides a better quality product than manual production. It helps in reduction of labor costs as well.

Welding robots require appropriate maintenance for continuous operations of welding. They may require regular recalibration or reprogramming for it. Proper robotic system design also help in minimizing interruptions in continuous production line. Correctly programmed welding robots precisely provide the same welds every time on pieces of the same dimensions and specifications.

There are many companies that have integrated and installed welding robot systems throughout the United States. They provide welding services to customers using these integrated and installed welding robots. There are many robot manufacturers also present in the market that provide welding robots to welding companies. These manufacturing companies offer a warranty, robot training, and prototype tooling for various robot integration packages. They also offer the customer care service with trained technicians, who can solve queries of customers from programming issues to robot system failure.

It is advisable for customers to make sure that the equipment components of welding robots have necessary features and a control interface with the main control system, when setting up a robotic welding facility.

Article Source: ezinearticles.com/?Welding-Robots&id=408075