e-F@ctory Alliance

One technology that turns an ordinary industrial plant into an intelligent factory is unquestionably the "robot arm" — an innovation that takes a great deal of strain off human workers, and that can move, pick up or assemble small parts such as electronic components and circuit boards precisely, all day long. That said, running robot arms in an intelligent factory requires hardware and software systems of a high standard that work together properly, so that production processes run smoothly and safely.

Today Mitsubishi Electric Factory Automation (Thailand) Co., Ltd. introduces a robotics solution for the intelligent factory that makes parts assembly work still more efficient: the High-precision assembly robot for the electronics industry. What makes this robot interesting, and how does it work? Let us get to know it together.

Meet the High-precision assembly robot for electronics industry

The High-precision assembly robot for electronics industry is a robot whose job is to lift, move or pick up objects and assemble them into parts according to the required design
Strengths of the High-precision assembly robot for electronics industry - Picks up small workpieces with precision - Handles high-detail or complex work well - Performs repetitive processes quickly and continuously - Detects abnormalities while assembling a workpiece - Checks workpiece position precisely - Works well even where space is limited

The basic working principle of the high-precision assembly robot set

The high-precision assembly robot set consists of a camera (vision sensor) and the robot itself. The camera photographs the workpiece and sends its position values to the robot, so that the robot can remember the position of the workpiece it has to assemble When a part arrives on the conveyor, the robot arm picks that part up and places it on a stand so the part sits at the required angle and orientation. The robot arm then picks up the part, now correctly oriented, and goes on to assemble it onto the printed circuit board The user can sequence the assembly steps as required by configuring the robot, which adds a great deal of flexibility to production processes

The notable components of the high-precision assembly robot set

■ Force Sensor A force-measuring sensor that gives a sense of the force acting on the robot. The robot can perceive the force acting on its gripper during assembly — for example, if the robot places a part off-centre from the hole, or an obstruction is present, the robot will not proceed with assembling the workpiece. ■ Robot additional axis function The conveyor is driven by a Mitsubishi MR-J4 Type B servo motor through the robot controller ■ Vision Sensor Inspects and measures automatically and easily, so quality can be improved immediately. Its compact size suits hard-to-reach areas and it can be mounted on the robot arm ■ Vertical type robot: RV-F series A robot arm that works with precision and speed using dedicated motors and amplifiers. It can be applied to a wide range of tasks and connects easily to Mitsubishi PLCs and servo motors

In developing the High-precision assembly robot, Mitsubishi Electric collaborated with Maxwell Innovation, one of the partners in the e-F@ctory Alliance programme and a specialist in building customisable made-to-design machinery for the electronics industry

At Mitsubishi Electric we never stand still in developing innovation and technology to raise automation systems, and in pushing industrial plants both small and large to become fully intelligent factories in the future. Keep following us to see what other interesting innovations we have to introduce. See you next time!