OnRobot Debuts New Cobot Software to Help Engineers With Remote Monitoring Capabilities

OnRobot specializes in plug-and-produce end-of-arm tools and software solutions for collaborative applications. The company aims to develop products that enable enhanced automation for manufacturing. 

 

An OnRoibot gripper helping move goods around a facility. Image used courtesy of OnRobot

 

The company’s product range includes electric and vacuum grippers, a 2.5D vision system, Gecko gripping technology, force/torque sensors, screwdriver, sander kits, tool changers, and more. This technology is suited for use in machine tending, packaging, assembly, quality testing, material handling, and welding applications. 

Recently, OnRobot released its new production monitoring, device diagnostics, and data analytics solution, WebLytics. The software solution is hoped to increase uptime and productivity through the provision of real-time, application-focused data for collaborative applications.
 

WebLytics

WebLytics can automatically collect and analyze real-time data from multiple collaborative applications and provide reports concerning the performance of applications. The software solution can provide live device diagnostics concerning health status and utilization, alerts, and preventive maintenance measures to minimize robot cell downtime. Minimizing downtime can also reduce costs and boost productivity. 

 

WebLytics user interface. Image used courtesy of OnRobot

 

Concerning device utilization, the industry-first remote monitoring and diagnostics software can report on the utilization of the robot arm and OnRobot tools including grippers, vision cameras, and sensors. 

WebLytics can also report the number of safety stops initiated and the number of grip cycles performed during application operation. The software can provide insights into the impact of changing robot speed or gripper settings.

 

OEE Utilization

WebLytics incorporates the overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) industry standard. As such, the software solution can pick up on deviations from the optimal performance of the manufacturing process.

WebLytics can monitor trends concerning the productivity of a collaborative robot application. OEE helps measure a percentage of the manufacturing time that is productive. If an OEE score of 100% is given, this would mean that the collaborative application in question is producing good parts quickly and with no downtime. 

Manufacturers of different sizes can utilize such OEE measures to modify the speed of the manufacturing process and maintain the quality of application cycles for optimized productivity. 

In a recent news release, Product Manager & Sales Engineer at Wamatec Hungary Kft., Laszlo Papp, said, "In this fast-paced world, time is everything. When cycle time is really important, WebLytics helps you identify the small mistakes that cause time wastage.” 

Papp added, "WebLytics can also save a lot of time for yourself and for your production line by making it easy to schedule all maintenance and product changes. My favorite function was the dashboard. I really liked how WebLytics allowed me to monitor all my applications, my cobots/robots, and my end-of-arm-tools using one platform that provides real-time monitoring, data collection and line charting. WebLytics makes optimizing all applications  much easier than before."

 

An OnRobot end effector on a cobot. Image used courtesy of OnRobot

 

WebLytics can be accessed through a secure browser-based user interface Customers can expect to visualize OEE measures and user-defined key performance indicators (KPIs) through customizable dashboards. Both historical and real-time application performance can be viewed. 

Customers can deploy the WebLytics server on a local network or it can be added to a virtual network that connects to the robot cell. WebLytics’ built-in web server can be accessed from the shop floor network or any location using a secure HTTPS connection.

OnRobot hopes this new cobot software will help engineers address some of the pain points with integrating cobots into an industrial facility.