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Olis’ PLC system alerts customers to what went incorrect when a robotic stops working. | Supply: Olis Robotics
Finish customers flip to automation as a result of it guarantees constant work with minimal downtime. When one thing goes incorrect, the robotic should cease working and look ahead to a human operator to step in and determine the issue. Throughout this era, firms are dropping out on precious time and productiveness. Olis Robotics mentioned it hopes to sort out this difficulty with its distant diagnostics system for industrial automation cells.
The Seattle-based firm offers video and telemetry-based diagnostics for workcells. This allows technicians to diagnose the foundation explanation for downtime occasions, like a robotic failure.
By giving customers fast entry to diagnostic knowledge, Olis mentioned they will shortly and remotely debug robotic cells. This has the potential to slash producer downtime whereas empowering integrators to tackle extra enterprise.
Olis added that it has expanded its capabilities to complete industrial cells, from the programmable logic controller (PLC) to the fingertips of the robotic gripper, in addition to conveyors and different {hardware}. Utilizing the software program, customers can monitor and set alerts for pre-defined runtime parameters by the PLC, together with I/Os, registers, and customized tags.
Olis offers key efficiency indicators
Frequent makes use of for PLC tags embrace measuring total tools effectiveness (OEE), monitoring cycle instances, and fault detection.
“The PLC usually comprises vital diagnostic knowledge required to know the causes of unplanned downtime,” acknowledged Fredrik Ryden, CEO of Olis Robotics. “Olis’ new PLC capabilities allow real-time entry to that knowledge, successfully closing the loop on video-based diagnostics for industrial automation techniques.”
Olis will launch the brand new product at IMTS 2024 in Chicago from Sept. 9 to 14. Based in 2013 as a spinout from the College of Washington’s Utilized Physics Lab, Olis mentioned it has constructed on over a decade of telerobotics analysis and growth performed with the U.S. Navy and NASA.
When robots fail, the firm claimed that its flagship Olis system delivers the information wanted for distant monitoring, management, and troubleshooting.
New PLC makes integrators ‘unstoppable’
The PLC orchestrates the entire robots and manages the entire logic for a complete cell. For integrators, the brand new PLC capabilities improve their means to debug a system earlier than transport.
They will additionally use it to efficiently monitor the system after deployment and remotely monitor and debug complete industrial cells.
“Diagnosing the reason for failure in trendy automation cells is notoriously tough and requires appreciable experience,” mentioned Steve Solack, controls engineering supervisor at Michigan-based integrator Mission Design & Automation. “That is as a result of complexity and number of elements concerned.”
“With probably the most essential diagnostic data usually being present in PLC tags and robotic knowledge, with the ability to shortly entry such knowledge by way of Olis’ easy-to-use interface reduces the time and ability set required to know the issue, making us extra environment friendly and lowering downtime prices for our prospects,” he mentioned.
Along with lowering downtime, Olis mentioned its instruments can enhance visibility for integrators and operators.
“Typically, when a failure happens, the robots could not even know that there’s an issue,” mentioned Invoice Ordakowski, gross sales engineer at Olis Robotics.
“Integrators have instructed me that they are going to be ‘unstoppable’ with this new expertise,” he added. “It’s not simply the radically diminished downtime that they admire, however the further breadth and management PLC entry brings to distant monitoring and diagnostics.”
Olis mentioned this new performance may even be used to keep up and enhance requirements in manufacturing throughput. For instance, in an software involving a robotic inserting bolts into a component, customers might create an alert that signifies when the feeder is operating low on bolts. The PLC can then ship Olis an alert informing the operator that it’s time to refill the feeder.
Controllers construct confidence in robotics
“Kaitech expects to deploy numerous robotic cells to quite a lot of prospects, together with a serious warehouse membership retailer, within the coming years,” mentioned Kilen Multop, IT director at Idaho-based integrator Kaitech Automation.
“To help this fast progress, we have to be sure that robots are deployed shortly and with out issues,” he added. “We may even want to trace cell efficiency for a few years to come back. Olis permits Kaitech to scale with added confidence by serving to with these key parts of automation deployment and administration.”
Olis’ new PLC options are particular to Rockwell Automation’s Allen Bradley PLCs. Robotic arms suitable with Olis embrace these of Common Robots, Kawasaki, and FANUC. The corporate plans so as to add compatibility with extra manufacturers.
The corporate partnered with Kawasaki in February to collectively provide robots and controls to allow prospects to restart manufacturing quicker, scale back troubleshooting and downtime prices by as much as 90%, and achieve entry to skilled help extra shortly.
