[kvom]

Along the same lines:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ew26...ature=youtu.be

[SCzEngrgGroup]

So take the UR3 size on that page. That would probably be an ideal size for a project like this one. Would Arduino handle the logic side of those drivers and motors?

Yup, I'm sure it would work really great! But MSRP on the UR3 is $23K...

Regards,
Ray L.

[daniellyall]

Lee there is a blog post on useing arduinos for winders I will find the post and let you know there are links on the page to software that does all the math for a few different winding mechanisms. I will be useing it to make a filament winder. A bit different I know same idea

[LeeWay]

That is about the ball park I was thinking it is in. I saw one video where they were say the ROI is done in an average of 6 months. I think it might be a few years for us at that price. I think they were referring to the larger models too.
It would probably be about a year for us to get ROI on your ATC and PDB. That is not bad at all either. Still, I have about a year to figure out what I want to do. May win the lottery between now and then. Then I could buy a platoon of those things to do it all.

[LeeWay]

Lee there is a blog post on useing arduinos for winders I will find the post and let you know there are links on the page to software that does all the math for a few different winding mechanisms. I will be useing it to make a filament winder.

Sounds good. I am certainly wanting to learn how to do that. At the moment, I just have a geared DC motor that turns a chuck forward and backward at 8 RPM. Pretty slow, but that is needed when I do these by hand. Much faster would be dangerous.

[daniellyall]

I have lost the link to the controller for the fusion file, the other options are in the text doc and a link to the program to do the winding Gcode it would be easy to do by hand

[LeeWay]

Thanks a bunch, Daniel.
Here is one just for the cool factor.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWmTX9QotGk

[Steve303]

Having one or more of those robot arms would certainly be very cool.

Even at $23,000 the ROI might be quicker than you may think if you can move it around the shop and have it do much more than simply feed your mill. Think feed mill on Monday; debur parts on Tuesday; assemble assemblies on Wednesday; package products on Thursday; help with shipping on Friday; clean shop on Saturday and finish off the week by cooking Sunday dinner for you and you family.

The idea is keeping it busy doing something in the shop all the time. In one of the videos they mentioned that workers were coming up with new jobs for the robot arm that no one had thought of when the robot arm was purchased.

Steve

[LeeWay]

I have seen some other smaller arms that could be useful too, but one thing they did lack was the safety sensors. Because of that, they would be more limited in where they could go and what they could do. In or behind an enclosure would certainly be okay, but that would pretty much be a permanent mounting. The portability and versatility of the like the UR3 as well as ease of use could certainly be exploited to make it usable much more of the time. We currently run our cnc machines virtually unattended at times. We do have to tend the plasma cutter because it cuts small parts and the spacing on the ribs allows part tipping. We could use a closer mesh, but then the reliability of it is also an issue. It can just cut out at times when something is just not quite right. We only cut with it a few hours a week though, so not a bottleneck.
I did order an Arduino starter kit and will become more familiar with it.

I am also considering just building a small robot arm model myself and use stepper motors, but add an encoder. I will test that platform out. I have plenty of extra motors and electronics laying around to make that happen. Moving to servo's makes sense too. No reason I can try both.

Most all of the smaller robot arms you see are wood or plastic. Some are light aluminum. They all seem to use RC servo's and in most, the servo housings are part of the arms structure. That is a poor idea since most of those use plastic housings too.
I do have some ideas.

[AUSTINMACHINING]

Having the hardware is one thing. The software is a whole different animal when operating 6 axis. As I've learned, just because the physical joints can theoretically move from a to b, doesn't mean the software can do it. Programming limits and singularity avoidance would make my brain explode :-).

[LeeWay]

And that is what I am researching now.
There must be some open source stuff available for starters. I would not be needing any high tech stuff. Stuff like the safety sensors, camera vacuum, etc. I suspect the camera recognition stuff might be fairly simple though.
These guys are advertising $300.00 6 axis robot arms complete with teaching software. Surely they are not paying any software licenses.

[LeeWay]

Well guys. I think I have made a decision regarding robot arms. To use anything in our small shop, it has to be a collaborative type. Don't want to get injured by a robot or machine of any kind.
I have pretty much decided on the Baxter model by Rethink. I have thought and rethought as well as searched and researched. I see several more applications in our workflow that could benefit from such a machine. Not only that, it can run some parts lights out. I will need to get a webcam setup and better alarms, but I really think this machine will take the place of a full time employee.
Here is a link and there are many videos on youtube. The price is just right I think.
I will need that PDB, Ray.

While I think this might have some cool factor, I honestly think it will certainly increase our production and probably pay for itself in less than two years. Since I have had hard times finding people to work for us in the past, this may solve or at least be a workable solution to that.
Anyway, let me know what you guys think or if you have anymore info about them that is non mainstream googelable.

Baxter | Redefining Robotics and Manufacturing | Rethink Robotics

[daniellyall]

that will end up around 40 grand, but it's cheaper than a twin turret lathe

[LeeWay]

Right. The number keeps on rising. The reality of it is that we just are not close to being ready to implement such a robot.
It is useless on the mill without at least a PDB and an auto chuck or clamping plate. We would need to use automatic clamps on a tooling jig for the router as well. Then we would need the same type of automation for an assembly table and jig.
We have to remove some old equipment from the shop that we don't use and that my Son used to swap out an engine recently. Finish the end of the open shop by installing the garage door. Shuffle some other peripheral machines around to make room for such a robot. The cost for all that additional automation keeps adding to the $30K+ cost and it becomes less and less like a good idea at the moment.
Then I would also need to design or buy different end effectors to carry out assembly too, so we will be waiting and doing much more research and working toward some of the peripheral automation.
I will put it on hold for 6 months and see where we are at then.

You really have to look at all aspects of the implementation of a robot. While they are very easy to teach, without the extra automation around it, they become less and less useful. It might really shine on a pick and place conveyor by itself, but that is not useful to us.

[LeeWay]

Wow. Have you guys priced pneumatic clamps? I think this is an area where you take a manual clamp like you need and just add the air cylinders and solenoid. Yep. Lots of thinking to do on whether it is practical. It is looking less and less so. I haven't stopped looking for a new hire yet though. Maybe I can luck up and get one that wants a job that involves just a little work. Mostly heated and air conditioned.

[SCzEngrgGroup]

Also keep in mind that robot is not rated to operate in a dusty or wet environment. Sawdust and moisture (coolant) could ruin it in short order.

Regards,
Ray L.

[LeeWay]

That is true, Ray. We pretty much have the dust controlled in the shop, but coolant is another issue. We do have to blow our tools off inside the enclosure before racking them in an effort to keep them clean. An air blast on an arm would be easy enough to implement. They also have sleeves when these are used for painting. I am pretty sure they would have some vinyl ones for wet conditions. Just another expense to add to the total. That $25000 base price is almost doubling already.

[Steve303]

I see in some videos the robot arms are covered in some kind of glove or jacket to keep them dry/dust free so the actual working environment may less of a concern.

Lee, $30K-$40K is a major investment for any small business but automation, I believe, is one of the better ways to save in the long run. In the future I can see small home garage manufacturing businesses running all day while the owner is away doing something else all together. I am looking forward to reading more of you findings as you continue your research.

Steve

[LeeWay]

There are quite a few arms available now at just about the same price point give or take a few thousand. All of the more expensive ones do come with nice teaching software. What is nice about the rethink models is the on board cameras already, but those can be implemented to any of them I suspect. All the collaborative robots do have the sensors for injury avoidance.
I did get a quote for $15000 for a small arm. It doesn't have many of the high tech features though. There are also a few still in the works that should cost considerably less. One company is shooting for a sub $5000 arm with even better safety features. Kind of like a saw stop. The outer shell actually senses human contact rather than force feedback. That would be from Carbon robotics. Katia model.

I do agree that automation will certainly help increase the bottom line. The lathe sure freed up a lot of time and labor costs. I will be investing in better automation, just not going to take that big of a bite to start with.
Maybe get my feet wet with something much lower in cost.

[Steve303]

Is Katia is actually shipping? I did see a target price of $1995 - $2995 in an article. At that price I can see a huge market for it.

https://www.engadget.com/2016/01/07/...-to-do-it-all/