KC Robotics Blog

Service Nightmare on Elm Street

Erica DeMott — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 15:15:19 +0000

When your industrial robot needs servicing, it can be a scary thing. Many times, companies that sell robots do not service them. So, what do you do if you find yourself with a down robot and no one to fix it?

It’s actually not as big of a nightmare as you might think but it’s a decision that can affect your whole company’s bottom line and that’s a really horrifying road to travel on.

1. Gather any and all information you have on your robot, make, model, year, and serial number. The more information you have, the better your decision will be when choosing a company to service your robot.

2. Find a reputable company with experience; make sure it isn’t a company that specializes in welding when you have a material handling robot. Also, make sure the company you choose works on the robot you need serviced, if you have a Yaskawa Motoman and Company A only services ABB and Fanuc, this company is obviously not a good fit. Again, the more you know the better off you’ll be.

3. Call the company you have chosen and speak with their service department. Give them as much detail of your problem as possible. Telling a service technician that your robot is broken will not help you or them, be specific. If you don’t feel like you are getting good service, get a second opinion from another company. Do not feel obligated to stick with the first one you called, and do not let companies force you to choose them, just because you called does not mean you are stuck with them. Get information, find out how they plan to tackle the problem, ask about their experience, a good company will talk to you for days. Ask questions.

4. Decide on whether you want to ship the robot to the service company, or have on-site service. Do the math, surprisingly, most of the time, on-site service is the best route, even with travel expenses, especially if you’re the proud owner of a KUKA KR 1000 Titan.

5. Schedule service. The longer you wait, the longer your production line is down, the less productive your company is and the cost of the repair may not be what you wanted to hear that day, but how much is your hesitation costing you?

6. Dispatchyour robot to the company or make plans for the service technician. Have you used this company before? If not, get the technician’s name and description; you have the right to know who you’re going to be working with prior to them stepping on your plant floor. Find out what they may need to get the job done quickly, clean up the area around the robot, the easier it is for them to service the robot, the faster your production line is up and running.

7. For on-site service only: Leave the technician alone. You may ask questions regarding the system s/he is working on but do not expect them to teach your newbie employee to run your other robots. They are there to fix the one robot and that is it. Service companies send the best technician for the job they’ve been asked to do, not the job you have decided they need to do. Sometimes the technician servicing your machine isn’t the best person to be teaching programming to your entire staff and this could cause negative consequences on both ends.

8. Rejoice. Hopefully, after the service has been done, your line will be operating at full speed. While your referring, don’t forget to tell the service company how they did, either using their social media pages or by emailing them.

9. Refer. If the service was excellent and the technician was knowledgeable and your robot is working at 100%, the best thing you can do to reciprocate is refer. Referrals can boost a company’s business ten-fold so tell your neighboring factory, or your friend who runs the plant down the road about the service you received and suggest they use this company as well.

5 Ways to Make Your Industrial Robot Last a Lifetime

Erica DeMott — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 13:07:28 +0000

Taking a few minutes every day to inspect and maintain your industrial robot, be it a KUKA, Motoman, or Fanuc, can increase its lifespan by years. It also will reduce future costs associated with repairs that might occur due to overlooked hazards. These suggestions don’t take a lot of time and don’t have any additional costs other than your basic grease and shop rag.

Use the appropriate lubricants, using the wrong type of grease or oils will not only shorten the robot drives life cycle, but may also reduce accuracy and repeatability, when in doubt, call a service center for preventive maintenance service never guess or assume.

Replace all batteries (where applicable) once a year. Most systems have back up batteries on the cpu racks inside the controller and many times inside the robot itself. On older machines, the cpu batteries are critical for retaining user programs and application data and parameters. The batteries in the robot arm are to back up robot encoder data and are crucial for holding absolute offset data for the calibration of the arm.

Speaking of, always back up your robot. On more recent systems, creating system backups is easy and relatively fast. On older machines, the process may take longer. But, taking a few minutes to back up your system is far better than spending hours, days or even weeks re-building system configurations, robot programs and customized ladder logic. Always back up your robot.

When possible, do not turn off your robot. If you have a system that runs one or two shifts a day, or even a few days a week, do not power it off. Apply all applicable e-stops and leave the system on. Thermal dynamically, it is better to keep electronics at a consistent temperature than a fluctuation. When you fluctuate the temp, board traces will expand and contract and will eventually shorten the life of some boards or power sources in the system.
Also, the backup batteries in the robot arm and controller are used to back up data when the system is OFF. If your batteries are low enough or exhausted, calibration loss or user data loss can occur. Many issues that we see with robot maintenance are after shutdowns for holidays or even during shut downs, it is best to leave systems powered up with e-stops applied. If the system is not being used, servos should be de-energized to save servo amp life cycle and power consumption.

Keeping your system clean, no one likes to do it. If you are using a spray application, grinding, or using abrasives, always jacket your robot. Adhesives and paint will penetrate your drives and cross roller bearings. This is a very common issue that we find (and an expensive one) that can easily be avoided. If you have a welding system, try to change any applicable filters in the welding power supply, remove the covers and blow out the welder every six months. The number one cause of weld power supplies faulting or failing is due to air flow restriction inside the unit. You will be amazed at how much dirt build up will collect in a welder in just six months. Performing this procedure is well worth the time investment and will definitely lengthen your weld unit’s life cycle. Since most welding robots are located in dirty work environments, it is also advisable to clean out your robot controller as well. Never blow air into a robot controller. We repeat. Never. Contaminants can get lodged into board sockets etc. Always vacuum out robot controllers with a Shop-Vac® to remove debris. Lastly, many controllers have air filters near or behind the fans, replace these as well.

KC Robotics: We’re Seeing Orange! 100% Increase in KUKA Robot Sales

Erica DeMott — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 13:30:45 +0000

As Platinum Integrators, September has brought us year to date a 100% increase in Kuka robot sales as Kuka continues to make significant inroads in the North American marketplace.

With two new robust lines covering a wide range of payloads, KUKA is a great choice for a company looking for a flexible, affordable solution to their production line. Combine that with our killer engineering staff, experienced technicians, great training opportunities, and solid preventative maintenance plans throughout the life of the robot and you can bring your company to the competitive level it needs to be.

If you want to be a part of the celebration and a part of the new developments in KUKA Industrial Automation, give us a call at 513-860-4442 any time.

Also, while you’re at it, see this wonderful infographic on reshoring by KUKA. www.kukaconnect.com/reshoring-robots-bring-jobs-us/

KC Robotics is now a KUKA System Partner

Jaan Kanellis — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 19:53:14 +0000

БогородицаIntroductory special for Kuka Robotics!

• KUKA KR5 arc Robot http://www.kcrobotics.com/new-robots/new-kuka-robots/kuka-low-payload-robots/kuka-kr-5-arc-robot/
• FRONIUS Transpuls Synergic Welding 5000 Equipment Package
• Torch and Wire Feeder
• KUKA KRC2 Controller
• Teach Pendant
• TP Cable (10 meter)
• Controller cable set (7 meter)

Total Package: $49,000.00

KC Robotics Job Posting

Jaan Kanellis — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 12:56:28 +0000

икони на светцииконографияJOB DESCRIPTION: Robot Technician / Field Serviceman
KC Robotics needs a Robot Technician to re-furbish used robots, trouble-shoot, program, perform service work, and assist with integration. (Maximum 25% travel time for fully trained technician)

Looking for skills in robot programming, PLC programming, wiring, and electrical/ mechanical trouble-shooting. Candidate should have good problem-solving skills, strong work ethic, consistent attendance, and willingness to learn. Experience with Fanuc robots is a plus.

JOB DESCRIPTION: Electronic Repair Technician
KC Robotics needs an Electronic Repair Technician to repair boards, teach pendants, servo motors, build cables, and wire panels. Must be able to read electrical prints.

Contact: Connie Carrier: connie @ kcrobotics.com
KC Robotics, Inc.
9000 LeSaint Drive
Fairfield, OH 45014
513-860-4442

Robonaut Heads to Space

Jaan Kanellis — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 19:39:17 +0000

мебели от чамSo this may not be the kind of robotics that we deal with here at KC Robotics but you have to admit that this is still stinking cool. NASA sent a robot into space onboard the space shuttle Discovery. The Robonaut project began as a joint venture between NASA and the DARPA program nearly 10 years ago. The goal was to build a robotic system that can demonstrate the technologies needed for a robot to function as a helper to human astronauts. Other than the obvious cool factor of this whole project the real technological jump is in the robots dexterous controls. GM partnered with NASA to design and build Robonaut 2 or R2. R2 takes the whole thing a step further. GM plans on using the technology developed in this project to improve future industrial robots it plans on using in its plants.

June is National Safety Month!

Lindsay Byrd — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 21:56:28 +0000

With June being the National Safety Month, we encourage companies to get involved and be active in seeking improvements made in their industry’s safety standards. There are several resources to reach out to for information on meeting safety guidelines and requirements, as well as various safety equipment options available for improving your system.

Safety is especially important in the field of robotics. When dealing with a robotic cell, it’s imperative to keep the system maintained properly and KC Robotics, Inc. can provide you with a variety of options for safety fencing, safety mats, light curtains, area scanners, etc.

The Robotic Industries Association (RIA) is responsible for creating the safety standards in the robotic industry and these can be retrieved by simply visiting their website listed below!

Robotic Industries Association (RIA)

Automating the Operating Room

Lindsay Byrd — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 13:41:42 +0000

We’ve all been hearing stories, whether on the news, in magazines or books, about the exciting role robots will have in medical field. I stumbled across an article written by Frank Tobe, from The Robot Report, who attended Stanford University’s Conference on Medical Robots last month. A lot of great information was given on the hopeful progress of robotic use in surgery.

Mr. Tobe pointed out several future projections that were given for medical automation, including two that many would find rather important. First, that the role of surgeons would change from compartmentalized to nearly transparent. Second, that there will be more devices used which will perform surgeon’s functions autonomously.

It’s really quite interesting to read more on the growth of the healthcare field and how robotics will integrate into such an important field. ough Mr. Tobe’s article is certainly worth the read!

Check it out:

http://www.everything-robotic.com/2010/04/6-projections-for-future-of-surgical.html

Robotic Sales Up First Quarter!

Lindsay Byrd — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 18:56:59 +0000

According to the Robotic Industries Association, the first quarter of 2010 has shown great growth for robotic sales in North America. For manufacturers, when compared to the first quarter of 2009, reports show an increase of 30% in dollar sales alone. That number is even greater against the last quarter of 2009. For the increase in unit sales, material handling maintains the largest application for new orders, accounting for nearly 60%. RIA has estimated that roughly 196,000 robots are currently being used in U.S. factories, coming in only second to Japan for robotic use.

Jeff Burnstein, RIA President, points out that even though companies are aware that business in 2009 was severely weak overall, we’re all still hopeful that the growth we’re currently seeing will continue to steadily increase. This attitude spans across America, as we are all pushing for continued success and survivability.

Read the full article for more details:

Robot Orders Post Strong Gains in First Quarter of 2010

Auction Robots – Why It’s Better to Buy From a Reseller

Lindsay Byrd — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 12:49:07 +0000

With the amount of manufacturing plants that have closed within the last year or two, there’s been an influx in the number of large auctions being held to purge equipment. However, there is a lot to take into account when you are considering purchasing used robots from an auction. Here are a few things to remember:

Cost – Most companies are drawn to auction robots firstly because of the reduced cost. These robots do, of course, come at a cheaper rate. However, while you may pay less at an auction for a used robot, there always the unknowns that arise after you have purchased the robot and you attempt running it. Always factor in extra costs into your budget for these robots, in case of necessary repairs.

Downtime – The robots that are being auctioned may have been sitting without running for a significant amount of time. It’s important to consider the affect this may have on the condition of the robot. For instance, if it were not in production for a prolonged length of time, there may be problems with grease breakdown, dead batteries, removed software or corruption, etc.

Learning Curve & Support – Take into consideration that when you’re not purchasing directly from a reseller, chances are you’re also not going to have immediate access to the technical support and expertise that most resellers offer.

We suggest going directly to a reseller or distributor because of the total value in the purchase. KC Robotics, Inc. offers robots that have been fully reconditioned and maintained properly, a 13 month robot parts warranty, and support from skilled service technicians!