Design and Operation of Robotic Production Systems

- Project -

How to Design and Operate an Industrial Robotic Manufacturing System

Teaching Professor:

Prof. Bogdan MOCAN, PhD (eng.) habil.Industrial Robotic Automation & Robot-Assisted Medicine________________________________________Technical University of Cluj-NapocaDepartment of Design Engineering and Roboticswww.utcluj.ro________________________________________e-mail: bogdan.mocan[at]muri.utcluj.ro bogdan.mocan[at]campus.utcluj.ro________________________________________Office: B-dul Muncii 103-105Cluj-Napoca, 400641, Romania

Collaborator:

Eng. Milan JAC, PhD stud.-------------------------Technical University of Cluj-NapocaDepartment of Design Engineering and Roboticswww.utcluj.ro-------------------------E-mail: milan.jac[at]muri.utcluj.ro

Link to: Course web page

Multidisciplinary Design of Industrial Robotic Automation Solutions

- Practical Guide for Students -

In the age of exponential progress of technology, innovations in robotics are exploding by integrating in smart ways the latest developments in artificial intelligence, mechanics and control. Beyond this, integration of robots with other smart systems to meet the challenges of smart factories leads to the consideration of new communication protocols, standardization and remote monitoring and control.

Available on-line: https://biblioteca.utcluj.ro/files/carti-online-cu-coperta/246-5.pdf

Project overview

PROJECT DETAILS: Design and Operate an Industrial Robotic Manufacturing System

Project Primary Objective

To design a comprehensive robotic production system that integrates handling, sorting, packaging, and palletizing activities for a given set of products, applying principles of robotics, mechanical engineering, and automation to a real-world scenario.

Objective functions of the project

1. Low-cost solution

2. Low production costs

3. Highly productive

4. Energy-efficient

5. Compact layout

6. Increased safety level

7. Highly ergonomic and intuitive (near-zero training time

8. Flexible (chess + backgammon pieces

9. Short installation time

10. Support for people with disabilities

11. Low maintenance costs

12. Increasing the capacity of the company to launch new products on the market

Working methodology

Phase 1: Research & Conceptual Design (Week 1-3)

Task 1: Conduct web research on industrial robotic systems used for handling, sorting, packaging, and palletizing (each team has to make a presentation of 10-15 slides).
Task 2: Define the product characteristics (shape, size, weight) and types of products that the system will handle (e.g., boxes, bottles, etc.).
Task 3: Sketch the initial concept of the robotic production system, including key components (robot arms, conveyors, sensors, etc.). Workflow diagram of the entire system.

Phase 2: Detailed System Design (Week 4-7)

Task 4: Select appropriate robots and automation equipment for each activity (handling, sorting, packaging, palletizing).
Task 5: Design/select of custom end-effectors for handling various products; Conveyor system design for product transport
Task 6: Design/select packaging mechanism; Design/select palletizing structure.
Task 7: Identify/select necessary sensors for the system.
Task 8: Develop the control system architectures for robotic production systems.
Task 9: Desig the overall control architecture and implementing safety features in the design.

Phase 3: Risk Analysis (Week 8-9)

Task 10: Conduct a risk analysis of the proposed robotic production system based on ISO 12100:2010 standards.
- Step 1: Hazard Identification: Identify potential hazards related to each robotic operation (handling, sorting, packaging, palletizing). Consider mechanical, electrical, and human-robot interaction risks.
- Step 2: Risk Estimation: Assess the level of risk (severity and probability) for each identified hazard.
- Step 3: Risk Mitigation: Propose risk reduction measures, such as physical barriers, sensors for human-robot interaction, safety protocols, and fail-safe mechanisms.

Phase 4: Robotic System Integration (Week 10-11)

Task 11: Program robot operations (handling, sorting, packaging, palletizing) in a simulation environment (e.g., ROS, RobotStudio, Delmia, etc.).
Task 12: Integrate all necessary robots and specific equipment into the process.
Task 13: Optimize system parameters (speed, efficiency, energy consumption).

Phase 5: Testing, Validation & Optimization (Week 12-13)

Task 14: Test the system with specific product types and simulate high-volume production runs.
Task 15: Analyse system performance in terms of speed, accuracy, and system bottlenecks.
Task 16: Propose system optimizations to improve throughput, reduce errors, and minimize energy consumption.

Phase 6: Final Presentation (Week 14)

Task 17: Prepare and deliver a final technical report of the project, including system concept, design, simulation results, and conclusions.
Task 18: Prepare a presentation of the project (ex. ppt, etc.) – including all relevant results.

Project evaluation

1. Design Quality (20%)

2. Risk Analysis & Safety (15%)

3. Functionality & Performance (20%)

4. Simulation & Programming (20%)

5. Innovation & Optimization (10%)

6. Teamwork and Collaboration (5%)

7. Technical Report (5%)

8. Final Presentation (5%)

Bibliography:

Mocan, B., Brad, S., Fulea, M, Murar, M., Stan, A., Timoftei, S., Multidisciplinary Design of Industrial Robotic Automation Solutions - Practical Guide For Students - Editura UTPress, ISBN 978-606-737-246-5, 240 pg., Cluj-Napoca, 2018.
Mocan, B., Robotization manufacturing II, course notes.
B. Siciliano, L. Sciavicco, L. Villani, and G. Oriolo, Robotics: Modelling, Planning and Control, 2nd ed. Springer, 2019.
M. P. Groover, Automation, Production Systems, and Computer-Integrated Manufacturing, 5th ed. Pearson, 2020.
W. Zhou and R. E. Mohan, Robotic Systems for Smart Manufacturing. Springer, 2022.
G. T. McKee, M. Schuster, and T. Kröger, Robotic Applications in Manufacturing: Material Handling, Processing, and Assembly. Elsevier, 2021.
ISO, ISO 12100:2010 - Safety of Machinery: General Principles for Design – Risk Assessment and Risk Reduction. International Organization for Standardization, 2010.
F. Benedikt, C. Dieterich, and J. Oberstar, Risk Assessment in Automation: A Practical Guide to ISO 12100, 2nd ed. Wiley, 2021.
X. Xu and Y. Lu, Industry 4.0 and Smart Manufacturing: A Revolution in the Automation Field. Elsevier, 2021.
L. Monostori and B. Kádár, "Cyber-physical production systems: Challenges in robotics for Industry 4.0," J. Manuf. Syst., vol. 65, pp. 50–65, 2022.
R. Bogue, "Trends in the use of robotics in packaging and palletizing," Assem. Autom., vol. 43, no. 1, pp. 25–30, 2023.

Software recommendations for developing the project:

- - - AutoCAD Inventor - Factory Design - is a 3D software used to design, visualise and simulate products and processes.
    - RoboDK, RobotStudio - realistically simulate a manufacturing environment.
    - SolidWorks - is a solid modelling computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided engineering (CAE) computer program.
    - CATIA (Computer Aided Three Dimensional Interactive Application) - is a multi-platform software suite for computer-aided design (CAD), computer-aided manufacturing (CAM), computer-aided engineering (CAE), PLM and 3D.
    - Dassault Systèmes DELMIA - is a Global Industrial Operations software specialised in digital manufacturing and manufacturing simulation

Examples of production facility layouts (developed by students):

...the examples below were developed by students from Robotics Specialisation and they were not necessarily scored with the maximum grade; examples below are relevant to the Robotization Manufacturing II project...