IV.
Robot Operational Cycle
Robot cycle time analysis
cycle Time is used in differentiating total duration of a process from its run time. A cycle time
analysis is any method that collects and analyzes time data for a process to improve total process or
system.
Cycle time determines the robot production rate for the job, which is a significant factor in the
economics service.
1. MTM (methods of the Measurements)
2. RTM (Robot time and motion)
In this each action of the robot is expressed as different elements so that we can easily calculate
the time of each action.
Elements can be categorized into four major group.
1. Motion element: manipulator movements performed either with or without load
2. Sensing element: sensory activities performed by robot equipment with sensing capabilities
3. End effector elements: End affector action of the robot
4. Delay elements: delay time resulting from waiting and processing condition in work cycle
Reducing Cycle Time and Increasing Throughput in Robotic Material Handling Applications
Introduction
Advantages of using robots in material handling applications include speed, payload capacity and
consistent productivity. increase in throughput are typically necessary to keep pace with production
demands without installing additional robot cells
System layout
The layout of your system will have a major effect on the overall cycle time. Some of these items must
be addressed before the cell is designed and others can be implemented on existing systems.
The location of the robot and peripheral equipment such as conveyors, machine tools, and pallet racks
should be done with the sequence of operation in mind. Minimize the distance that the robot must
travel from one program step to the next, especially on moves that require large movements of the
slowest robot axes.
Explore alternate mounting orientations for the robot such as a wall or ceiling mount. A shelf-mounted
robot with the conveyors running underneath it has become popular due to the wider variety of this
robot type available today. In a multiple robot system, if an assembly pallet enters and exits the robot
workcell on a single conveyor spur, time will be lost shuttling pallets in and out. A better solution is to
use a conveyor loop through the workcell so that pallets only flow in one direction. When a pallet is
finished, it is released and the next pallet will enter the workcell right behind it. This provides better
traffic control for the pallets and provides a buffer that minimizes the robot's waiting time
Programming/software techniques
If the robot system has been operating for a while, the program may have been modified numerous
times. Remove any motions or program steps that are no longer necessary. On six-axis articulated robot
applications, minimize large rotations of the wrist axes, especially axis 6.
Correct use of your robot's built-in software functions is a cost-effective way to minimize cycle time.
Various brands of robot controllers treat these parameters differently. This is the preferred method for
most parameters. Others are global parameters that affect all motions for that robot and can't be
modified during program execution.
Path accuracy settings control how tightly the robot will follow a given path between points, typically a
straight line. Settling time or position level settings determine how closely the robot must get to a
programmed point. Set the path accuracy and settling time parameters as loose as possible (i.e.
COARSE/CONTINUOUS instead of FINE). Test the effect of these settings in both TEACH mode and
PLAY/AUTO mode because these parameters can behave differently as the playback speed increases.
Perform several operations in parallel instead of in sequence.
Synchronization of the robot's movements with a conveyor may allow for a faster cycle time because
this reduces the amount of starting and stopping of both the robot and the products being handled. If
this software function is available with your robot controller
Hardware issues
All hardware used in the workcell should be analyzed for potential to increase the throughput of the system.
https://www.slideshare.net/nirmal304/robot-programing
https://www.robotics.org/content-detail.cfm/Industrial-Robotics-Tech-Papers/Reducing-Cycle-Time-
and-Increasing-Throughput-in-Robotic-Material-Handling-Applications/content_id/6301
