Mr. Mühlens, robots have long been an integral part of large factories. Now, more and more small and medium-sized companies are also automating and using low-cost automation. In your opinion, what are the reasons for this?

Alexander Mühlens is Head of the Automation Technology and Robotics division at Igus.

© Igus

Alexander Mühlens: Small and medium-sized companies, just like large corporations, are under competitive pressure. A classic way to counter this is to automate tasks. However, the entry-level prices of industrial robots often overstretch the budgets of SMEs. In addition, additional personnel would be needed to take care of the robot's programming. These are also cost items that many companies cannot afford. In addition, the large industrial robots are oversized for many activities - especially when it comes to simple, monotonous tasks. In this respect, cost-effective and, above all, easy-to-use solutions are required that a medium-sized company can use without excessive costs and integration effort. And it is precisely for these applications that we have developed various low-cost kinematics - articulated arm robots, linear robots as well as Scara and Delta robots.

What do beginners need to consider when choosing a robot?

Mühlens: The central question is always: what task do I want to automate and what parameters are important to me? There are also many questions that you can ask yourself in advance to find out which robotics solution is best suited to you: How heavy is the part to be moved in a pick & place application? How high must the accuracy be? How fast should the robotics solution be? For example, if the robot picks up a chocolate bar in a vending machine and places it in the dispenser, it does not need extreme precision or high speeds. And that's exactly what saves money in the end.

Low-cost automation sounds good at first - but despite the low costs, isn't the barrier to entry still high, especially for companies that have little experience with robotics?

Mühlens: Our aim is precisely to lower these barriers and offer users a particularly easy introduction to automation. With our 'build or buy' approach, users only buy the individual robotics components or a ready-made solution. Our online marketplace RBTX is particularly helpful here, as it brings users and users of low-cost robotics together easily. The online marketplace gives users the opportunity to put together their own low-cost robot solution with just a few clicks.

However, not all users know from the outset exactly what they need for their automation project. Every consultation often starts with the question "What do I want to automate?". This is where the RBTXpert can help. The interested party selects their desired date with the RBTXpert free of charge and then describes their project in a video call. The expert then takes care of the 'how'. The feasibility is checked together in the remote appointment by testing the advantages of different robot kinematics and accessories live. The implementation of the planned automation is tested and optimized in the 400 m² 'Customer Testing Area', where the customer can participate via video. It becomes even more precise if the customer sends the part to be moved to Igus in advance for testing. At the end of the free consultation, the customer is assured of the feasibility and compatibility of the automation project and receives a quote with a fixed price. If the customer decides to implement the project, the components are then delivered. The RBTXpert service then helps with commissioning as part of the project scope.

What exactly does low-cost automation mean at Igus?

Mühlens: We focus on various aspects with our robots. First of all, there is modularity: the customer has the option of configuring their articulated arm as they wish, for example. Another issue is weight: as we rely on our plastics for the central elements, our kinematics are particularly light. And probably the most important point: we promise a quick return on investment after around six to twelve months. All of this is designed to lower the barriers to automation. We also offer intuitive, free control software and an online configurator. With the robot software, first-time users can program in as little as half an hour. And our robots are reasonably priced because we limit ourselves to the essential functions: our robots have a precision of 0.5 to 1 mm, can lift up to 5 kg and manage up to 60 picks per minute - so they are not the fastest or most precise, but they are more than suitable for many tasks. Our robotic components can be found in ice cream and drinks vending machines, for example, but also in the insertion device of a machine tool and in assembly stations.

Speaking of a quick return on investment: what choice do customers have and what costs should they expect when purchasing?

Mühlens: In the area of low-cost automation, we currently have the four types of robots mentioned with corresponding solutions in our range. Portal solutions are available from as little as 1000 euros, the Delta robot and the articulated arms from as little as 3500 euros without a controller. Our typical projects cost a total of 8000 euros in hardware and around 20 hours of integration work. Of course, there are sometimes more complex projects that cannot yet be implemented with low-cost automation and the RBTXpert. Then we include them in our development plan.

Example of low-cost automation: a robot sells chocolates

© Igus

In Bruges, Belgium, the chocolate store Roose's Chocolate World has had a robot called Chocomatic built. It packs chocolates in front of the customers. The robot moves up and down the glass room, swivels its arm in all directions, reaches into the displays, picks up chocolates with a suction gripper, neatly places them in the box, wraps the delicacies in gold foil and returns to its starting position. A Robolink robot from Igus is used for this.

The robot is mounted on a linear slide, the so-called seventh axis. It is now moved up to 3 m by a toothed belt with a lubricant-free toothed belt axis - driven by an Igus stepper motor with a 5:1 gearbox. In order to enable clean running without tangling, the energy and data cables are inserted into energy chains that follow the movement of the carriage. The robot arm's control system is integrated into its base. The electric worker learns to pick thanks to software developed by Roose, which interacts with the controller via an interface. The in-house program evaluates the images from the robot's 3D camera and calculates the position and order in which the chocolates should be placed in the box. Employees only have to switch Chocomatic on and occasionally refill it with confectionery - no extensive training is required. The robot moves autonomously to the individual pieces, picks them up with the vacuum gripper and places them in the tray - at a speed of 0.5 m/s and with a repeat accuracy of 0.8 mm.