The history of a German manufacturer of safety glass dates back to 1665, when King Louis XIV of France granted a financier the exclusive privilege of making mirror glass. The King sought to end Venice’s monopoly on Europe’s mirror market and his vision worked. Mirrors from Saint-Gobain, a small village in Normandy, have adorned the Royal Palace of Versailles near Paris since 1684.
The King, and others from that period, would be amazed at the transformation of the centuries-old company. Now called Vetrotech Saint-Gobain Kinon GmbH, the business focuses on safety glass for public institutions and marine applications as well as fire-resistant glass.
For the latter, the company uses modern automation technology. Using a delta robot from igus, the Germany-based manufacturer of motion plastics, the company reduced costs while also relieving employees of monotonous tasks.
The application is one of many in the evolving world of low-cost automation. While automation has been increasing in the past decade, many companies found themselves unable to hurdle the pricey barrier to entry. Now, however, prices have decreased markedly – some automated units can be purchased for around $5,000 – and even small businesses are gravitating toward robotic solutions.
“Businesses today are under constant pressure to lower costs while improving operational efficiency,‘’ says Alexander Mühlens, head of low-cost automation at igus. “Labor shortages, reducing costs, improving workflows and reducing workplace accidents are among the reasons why organizations are seeking automated solutions.”
Pick and Place Robot Improves Production of Fire Protection Glass
Low-cost automation products are being used by companies like Vetrotech Saint-Gobain to create efficiency, reduce costs and alleviate monotony.
Vetrotech Saint-Gobain manufactures structural glass that helps keep buildings and people safe in the event of fire. The fire-protection glass prevents the spread of fire for a specified duration. One example of the product in use is found at the Salesforce Transit Center in San Francisco, where architects specified a fire-rated glass floor and skylight with a 2-hour fire rating, seismic resistance, and waterproofing.
Conventional glass shatters due to the heat. To produce fire protection glass, insulation must be added so that the glass will not heat to the shattering point as quickly. Vetrotech Saint-Gobain produces a multilayered glass that has liquid insulation in between the panes.
Previously, filling the cavities in the glass panes with the liquid required the hands of an employee. Plastic arrows to guide the liquid into the glass were manually placed in predefined molds, then picked up by a robot and positioned as placeholders. The company looked for an automated solution that could relieve workers from the repetitive task.
To reduce the manual labor involved in placing the arrows, Vetrotech Saint-Gobain purchased a delta robot from igus, which cost around $5,300. The robots include self-lubricating sliding plastic liners, drylin linear actuators and other components. The lightweight system has positioning accuracy of +/-0.5 mm and a maximum load of 11 lbs. The delta robot can perform 30 picks per minute in the 660 mm version, which is the unit used in this application.
The delta robot is a 3-axis unit connected by a common joint above and below the arms. Its main purpose is picking and placing objects, and can be used for standard applications with small parts.
The automated solution relieves employees of conducting monotonous tasks and also accelerates production. Employees can be transitioned to more demanding tasks in the production process. By using the robot, the company realized a quick return on investment.
“If with three shifts per day, one employee sorts the filling corners for 3 hours at a time, in terms of costs the project will pay back the cost after just 12 months,’’ said Niklas Kuhl of igus.
Growth in Robotics Uptake
The use of automation in the production of fire safety glass points out another interesting trend. Namely, more businesses are getting into the robotics game.
“Every industry, including agriculture, construction, retail and hospital is now looking at how they can take advantage of robotics to make their companies more successful,’’ said Alex Shikany, vice president of membership and business intelligence, the Association for Advancing Automation (A3).
The numbers leaped off the page early in 2022. A report in May from A3 said North American companies purchased the most robots ever in a single quarter in the first 3 months of 2022.
The value of robots sold reached $646 million, a 25% increase over the previous best quarter, which was the fourth quarter of 2021. Each industry segment experienced double-digit growth over the same quarter of 2021.
The first quarter of 2022 marked the seventh time in the last nine quarters where non-automotive customers ordered more robots than automotive customers. Unit sales to automotive OEMs were up 15%. Unit sales to metals (up 40%), semiconductors and electronics (23%) and food and consumer goods (21%) were among those that outpaced sales to automotive.
“As robots continually become easier to use and more affordable, we expect to see adoption continue to rise in every industry and at companies of all sizes,’’ said Jeff Burnstein, president of A3. “There are hundreds of thousands of companies in North America who have yet to install even one robot.”
Application Diversity
One other interesting aspect to the automation trend is the diversity of applications in which robots are being used. Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), engineers and product experts are expanding the automation playing field.
One of the most troublesome environments for automation is agriculture. Exposure to elements, dirt and risk of corrosion makes it difficult to find workable solutions.
In an application in Germany, however, a low-cost solution for harvesting cucumbers has been developed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Systems and Design Technology IPK. It could not have been developed at a better time. “There is an urgent need for improved harvesting technologies to maintain the economic viability of cucumber farming in Germany,’’ the Fraunhofer Institute said.
Engineers used an articulated arm robot from igus called robolink, which can be used in pick and place, palletization, welding, and test applications. The unit also includes a special camera system which helps the robot detect and locate the cucumbers. The Fraunhofer Institute says the robot locates approximately 95% of the cucumbers.
“It is a considerable challenge to design autonomous systems capable of optical and tactile sensing, assessing and evaluating,’’ the Institute noted. “Cucumbers are randomly distributed through a field and some are concealed by vegetation. Varying light conditions make the mission all the more difficult.”
Another company in Germany uses low-cost automation products from igus to breed and grow worms. The machines lift, transport, release, stack and spray water around the clock. The worms, called dendrobena, are used as fishing bait, a natural fertilizer for gardens and greenhouses, and as food for animals. The company uses a range of igus products and developed a fully automated feeding and watering process.
“With the new plant, feeding and watering can be carried out around the clock, even when there is a shortage of staff,’’ owner Martin Langhoff said. “In addition, errors are reduced to a minimum.”
Breaking Down Barriers
As technology advances, automation is becoming more affordable which is enabling businesses to employ automation solutions like robots to boost their bottom line by reducing labor costs and improving efficiency.
“Companies need cost-effective, and above all, easy-to-operate solutions that any company can use without incurring high costs and integration effort,’’ said Mühlens of igus. “And it is precisely for these applications that have developed various low-cost and kinematic systems with the help of our plastics expertise: articulated arm robots, linear robots, and scara and delta robots.”
The idea that automation is coming sometime in the future is no longer valid. The futuristic concept of having robots complete tasks that previously required human hands was envisioned decades ago, and that vision has become a reality. The Industrial Revolution of the 21st century is going to be spearheaded by automation. The only limit on how far automation can take the world is the imagination of engineers, and it is quite evident their imagination has no boundaries.
“Our goal is to make low-cost automation as accessible as possible,’’ Mühlens said. “We have customers that are as diverse as their applications. Some are just looking for compatible hardware and do the rest of the integration journey by themselves. And some users need help with the design. It’s exciting that affordable solutions allow anyone to start their automation journey.”
This article was written and contributed by Thomas Renner on behalf of igus inc.
Thomas Renner writes on engineering, architecture, construction and other trade industry topics for publications throughout the United States.
