Cobot painting

5 reasons why cobots are taking over painting and industry

Historically, dirty, dull, and dangerous jobs were assigned to industrial robots while humans performed more delicate tasks. Collaboration robots, or cobots, alongside human workers, are now slowly replacing industrial robots. They are designed to collaborate and interact with humans in a shared workspace. Industries are increasingly using cobots to stack boxes, paint, weld, and control the quality of products. Below are some of the benefits of using cobots and their impact on their human co-workers.

1. They are smart

Cobots are smarter than industrial robots, thanks to their advanced technology, smart systems, and sensors. Cobots’ technology makes them context- and people-aware, thus ensuring they are accurate and safe to work around.

3. Easier ergonomics

Human workers can work alongside flexible cobots to undertake assembly tasks that may be ergonomically disadvantageous. Such cobots physically interact with the workers in a shared workspace. They have sophisticated sensors that allow them to react speedily to the proximity of their human co-workers, thus negating the need for employees to wear a protective guard.

2. They are easy to use

While cobots might lack a smiley face for workers to interact with, they’re intuitive to operate since they have a tablet or similar display. They free up elements of the human workforce to concentrate on more specialised jobs. This boosts employee retention and frees employees from dangerous, monotonous, or temporary tasks. Such jobs can be done by cobots to avoid boredom and injury. It also leaves the company free to recruit humans for more advanced work, especially in cognitive areas that leverage technology.

4. Improved productivity

You can use cobots to undertake precise painting, buffing and polishing jobs, working alongside human workers who do quality checks. Cobots can increase a company’s productivity by 50 per cent without any job losses. Instead, human workers who previously performed these tasks can assume other roles, such as becoming robot programmers. Further, cobots help save paint as they can control nozzle flow. As such, you can paint more surfaces with the same amount of paint.

5. Precision accuracy

Carmakers can benefit immensely by implementing an integrated approach to robots and humans working together on assembly lines. They can use cobots to paint and fit shock absorbers since these tasks require dexterity, pinpoint accuracy, and strength. With their high-tech sensors, cobots can cease activities immediately should they detect something in their way. This ensures that humans are safe at all times. The use of cobots in industrial painting helps save up to 30 per cent of paint. The cobots can apply paint to equipment and parts and don’t leave behind drips and other imperfections since they are precise. They spray equipment using the right amount of paint to reduce wastage and ensure a flawless finish.

Bottom line

The above are just five of the many reasons cobots are replacing robots in painting and industry. It appears that for efficiency, humans and machines should complement each other. Cobots are relatively less costly, use simple programming, and are versatile, making them ideal for many tasks. Besides, they don’t necessarily result in job losses. They free up human workers for more productive and sophisticated roles. Consider hiring cobots to test on these benefits.

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