Robotic automation for industrial applications is rapidly growing due to the reliability of programmed robots, as well as the low overhead costs compared to traditional manufacturing processes. Some of the common robots used in the manufacturing processes are Cartesian, cylindrical, and spherical robots.
Robots are reliable and consistent, but failures can occur such as loss of air pressure, power failures, or glitches in the controls. A controlled environment should be developed to minimize the “human-factor” decision making due to the inherent trust between robot and human.
A controlled environment for robot automation safety is a development of robotic safety guarding, which is a hard-sided barrier or fencing integrated with electronic safety devices to create a controlled system taking a standard barrier to a true safety guard. This guarding is designed to define a clear unobstructed area for the robot to function properly protecting workers from hazards due to robot activity, material handling, and production debris.
Hazards that can occur if robotic safety guarding is not in place are pinch, crush, wrap, cut, and nip points as well as colliding with the robot or the robot losing control of a part. Designs are created using a combination of OSHA, ANSI, ISO, and RIA safety standards. These safety standards are written with some inherent flexibility or “gray area” due to the wide range of manufacturing processes . A level of “common sense” and manufacturing experience needs to be factored in when closing the gap between the “gray area” and the guarding being designed.
