Speaking of industrial robots, they are mechanical devices that can perform tasks such as welding, assembling, and soldering to precision boards in factories.
As robot development progresses all over the world, I would like to introduce the definition of robots that are becoming familiar and the types of “industrial robots” this time.
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h3>What is a robot?
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When you think of the word “robot”, you can imagine something that appears in anime, Softbank’s doll robot “Pepper”, and a robot arm that is active in the industrial world. But what exactly is a clear robot standard?
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry defines a machine as having three elements: a sensor, an intelligence / control system, and a drive system. The image is difficult, but if you compare it to a human being, it is as follows.
● Sensor = Five senses
● Intelligence / control system = Brain
● Drive system = Limbs
Types of industrial robots
Industrial robots are mainly classified into four types. Typical ones are “vertical articulated robots”, but there are also “parallel link robots”, “scalar (horizontal articulated) robots” and “cartesian robots”. ..
Vertical articulated robot
It has multiple joints like a human arm, and can reproduce complex movements with a high degree of freedom.
It occupies a large part of applications for welding and painting, but it is characterized by high versatility by replacing the tip of the robot according to the work.
Parallel link robot
A parallel link robot is a robot that supports the tip with 3 to 4 arms.
It is equipped with a unit that attracts objects to the tip, and because the main body is lightweight, it is often used for picking up and transporting objects flowing on a belt conveyor at high speed.
SCARA (horizontal articulated) robot
It is a robot that has two rotation axes for horizontal public relations and one linear axis at the tip.
Although it can only be worked from above, it can be pushed in by moving the tip up and down, and is good at pushing and holding down parts, and is often used for assembly work.
Cartesian robot
It is a robot composed of two or three orthogonal slide axes, and although it is not good at complicated movements, it is good at high-precision work with little blurring. It is highly versatile and boasts high productivity due to its wide range of versatility and low cost, such as transportation, deburring, adhesive application, and excavation.
Industrial robot market
Automation by industrial robots has spread to Japan as well as overseas.
NEDO of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the National Development and Research Organization predict that the domestic robot market will exceed 3 trillion yen in 2025 and 9 trillion yen in 2035.
As the introduction of industrial robots in various industries gradually progresses, I would like to see how the application area will expand.