OFF-THE-SHELF AUTOMATION.

The robot is essentially a piece of off-the-shelf automated equipment that can be put on line with a minimum of debugging. The chief difference between a robot and any other piece of automated equipment is that the robot can be easily reprogrammed. Robots have had their greatest success in simple transfer operations such as loading and unloading presses, die-casting machines, or molding machines. In part fabrication, the robot has been used for both automatic painting and welding. A robot is most effectively used in medium-length production runs. The volume must be large enough so that manual labor is not practical yet small enough so that total automation with special-purpose machines is not economic. The article discusses applications, hardware, software, and future outlook for industrial robots.