The rise of the cobots

Mills CNC, the exclusive distributor of Doosan machine tools in the UK and Ireland, has created a new division to provide a focal point for, and drive sales of its industrial and collaborative automation business. The new division, called Mills CNC Automation, was created in late 2018 and is located at Mills CNC’s Technology Campus facility in Leamington.

At the beginning of this year, Mills CNC Automation, became the agent for Doosan Robotics, part of the Doosan Group. The agreement sees Mills CNC Automation supplying the full range of Doosan Robotics’ advanced, high-performance collaborative robot (cobot) systems and solutions to UK and Irish manufacturers.

“This is a new and exciting venture for us. The new Mills CNC Automation division will be responsible for driving and accelerating sales of our industrial and, with the agreement signed between ourselves and Doosan Robotics, collaborative robot systems,” states Tony Dale, Mills CNC’s technical director. “The decision to create a new, separate division provides a focal point for our automation business and will operate closely with our machine tool operation.”

Rise of the robots

The agreement with Doosan Robotics will see Mills CNC Automation supplying a range of cobots into the UK and Irish markets. One of the first companies to invest in Doosan Robotics’ collaborative robot technology is Coventry-based Arrowsmith Engineering, a leading aerospace precision subcontract specialist.

The investment made in a M0617 cobot, with its 6kg payload and 1.7m reach radius, is evidence of Arrowsmith’s strategic continuous improvement programme in action which, in conjunction with recent investments made in acquiring a number of advanced, high-performance Doosan machine tools, is intended to improve the company’s productivity, operational efficiencies and overall competitiveness.

“The UK’s aerospace supply chain is lagging behind its European, US and Asian counterparts with regard to investing in automation,” says Jason Aldridge, Arrowsmith Engineering’s managing director. “Recent research shows that Germany, for example, has 309 robots per 10,000 manufacturing employees whereas, in the UK, the figure is 71 robots per 10,000 employees.

“Unlike many UK companies we see the benefits from investing in automation. By embracing collaborative robot technology and integrating it into our manufacturing processes we will be able to exploit the potential of lights-out/unattended operations and be better positioned to control costs and improve productivity levels.”

Arrowsmith’s investment in Doosan Robotics’ cobot technology from Mills CNC Automation was partly funded by an Innovation Award from Coventry University. The M0617 cobot is integrated with Arrowsmith’s new Doosan DNM 4500 vertical machining centre where it will be performing, round the clock, a range of machine tending - workpiece loading and unloading - operations.

The Doosan Robotics’ cobot range comprises four different models - the M0609, M1509, M1013 and the previously mentioned M0617. In addition to their payload (up to 15kg) and reach radius (up to 1.7m) capabilities, and their stylish design, all cobots feature six high-torque sensors mounted on their articulated (6-axis) arms which makes them inherently safe. The cobot arms are accurate (±0.1mm repeatability) and fast with a Transmission Control Protocol speed of 1m/s.

As well as different capacity and capability cobot arms - every model is also supplied with a control unit (490 x 290 x 287mm) and a robust and lightweight (0.8kg) teaching pendant with a 10.1” capacitive touch screen.

“Doosan Robotics’ cobots are easy to use and simple to install,” Dale concludes. “The torque sensors on the cobot arms detect the slightest impact. In layman’s terms they stop immediately before any type of collision occurs when running in collaborative mode. This technology makes the cobots safe and means that they do not need to be fenced in or caged off.”

Mills CNC Automation will promote its cobot range to CNC machine tool users for machine tending operations in the first instance but will, in the coming weeks and months, market the range to specific sectors like aerospace.

www.millscnc.co.uk