South China International Industry Fair
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Forward from The FABRICATOR
By Dan Davis
Automation needs the human touch
The impact of automation and advanced technology on the metal fabricating industry is hard to deny given what’s happening in front offices and on shop floors. All you have to do is speak with those companies that have made key capital equipment investments in recent years. If you get the chance to actually see some of this technology at work, you don’t need to rely on the word of others. The increase in efficiency when compared to traditional processes and older machine tools is clearly evident.
This transition to a more automated environment doesn’t come without a lot of work. Robots, semiautomated devices, and software aren’t plug and play. Someone’s got to figure out how all the elements of a system can work together consistently and reliably to meet manufacturing goals.
And that need for human intervention doesn’t end after setup; it’s still required even after the system goes live. Like so many other parts of a successful metal fabricating shop, the opportunities for continuous improvement are ample, and experienced metal fabricating personnel are going to be able to identify those areas for optimization.
For instance, consider material storage and retrieval systems, whether in the form of a single tower or several towers, in the case of larger cells. They need not only to feed automated equipment but also to accommodate manual operations. While that might seem to go against the true spirit of the automation, a shop needs to realize that the value of these material towers is their ability to hold inventory stock in a centralized place and deliver sheet metal when needed. Now a shop might have material racks outside of these types of towers, but that’s not making full utilization of these material storage systems. Having a location for manual unloading and loading provides the metal fabricator with the flexibility to access material without interrupting cutting or bending on its automated equipment.
Why might a fabricator need this type of material access? Most shops will tell you that it makes sense to have equipment nearby to accentuate the work being done on the automated machines. For example, small runs of easy-to-handle parts that require only three or four bends are a good fit for manual forming on a press brake, whereas an automated press brake makes more sense for large, awkward workpieces or for smaller parts with a series of complex bends that could challenge the most experienced brake operator. Again, in this scenario, a shop maintains flexibility while enjoying the benefits of automation.
Also, a fabricator needs to realize that not all part designs are created with automation in mind. In automated bending, the robot needs to have the space to grab the part throughout the forming cycle. A press brake operator’s hands are much more dexterous than a robotic gripper, so a part might need to be redesigned to accommodate the robot’s limited handling options.
That leads to a discussion about end effector tooling design for robots, especially for bending operations. A fab shop can rely on outside automation experts and robot integrator companies for this type of expertise, but those supply chain partners have other customers as well. For more direct and timely support, shops likely need to have their own in-house experts.
A metal fabricator recently told me that if he had any advice for a shop ramping up its first robotic bending cell, it would be to learn more about end effector tooling. Developing that internal expertise has helped his company keep production efforts going when facing challenges with its own robotic bending cell. His shop didn’t need to wait for a consultation; it could move forward with a new end effector design, try it out, and get to producing parts sooner rather than later. In some instances, a 3D printer can help to expedite this tryout cycle even more because the tooling can be made in-house.
With so many automation choices to consider, shops of all sizes are dedicating resources to an individual or team to help them navigate through the many options, decide what might work best, and finally get it up and running. Titles like director of technology development or advanced manufacturing lead are becoming more noticeable as metal fabricators realize they can’t rely on their old ways to survive in the modern era of manufacturing.
Automation for metal fabricating applications continues to grow in its effectiveness and ease of use, while also becoming more affordable for companies that might have otherwise been scared by the price tag. But without the right team of technicians and engineers to ensure that the automation works as intended, this type of capital equipment investment is a risky proposition.
Everyone has a story about seeing an abandoned robot in a corner of a shop because a past automation project didn’t work out. That’s why the human touch is a key part to any metal fabricator’s automation journey today.
