UNIT-V IMPLEMENTATION AND ROBOT ECONOMICS:

AGV:

An automated guided vehicle or automatic guided vehicle (AGV) is a mobile robot that
follows markers or wires in the floor, or uses vision or lasers. They are most often
used in industrial applications to move materials around a manufacturing facility
or a warehouse. Application of the automatic guided vehicle has broadened during
the late 20th century and they are no longer restricted to industrial environments.

Automated guided vehicles (AGVs) increase efficiency and reduce costs by helping to
automate a manufacturing facility or warehouse.[1] The AGV can tow objects behind them
in trailers to which they can autonomously attach. The trailers can be used to move raw
materials or finished product. The AGV can also store objects on a bed. The objects can
be placed on a set of motorized rollers (conveyor) and then pushed off by reversing them.
Some AGVs use fork lifts to lift objects for storage. AGVs are employed in nearly every
industry, including, pulp, paper, metals, newspaper, and general manufacturing.
Transporting materials such as food, linen or medicine in hospitals is also done.

An AGV can also be called a laser guided vehicle (LGV) or self-guided vehicle (SGV).
In Germany the technology is also called Fahrerlose Transportsysteme (FTS) and in
Sweden förarlösa truckar. Lower cost versions of AGVs are often called Automated
Guided Carts (AGCs) and are usually guided by magnetic tape. AGCs are available in a
variety of models and can be used to move products on an assembly line, transport goods
throughout a plant or warehouse, and deliver loads to and from stretch wrappers and
roller conveyors.[2]

AGV applications are seemingly endless as capacities can range from just a few pounds
to hundreds of tons.
Flexible manufacturing system

To begin to understand AGV it is necessary to understand the fundamentals of flexible

manufacturing systems (FMS). FMS is a means by which to manufacture a product. FMS
is more of a philosophy rather than a tangible item.[3] FMS is the idea that faster is better
and uses machines to produce their products. Rather than using humans to perform
repetitive tasks a machine is used to perform that task 24 hours a day. FMS uses
computer numerical controlled machines (CNC) to form a work cell.[3] Each cell performs
a specific task to assist in the manufacturing of a product. Although FMS is fast and
efficient it is not cheap as it requires a lot of expensive machines in order to work.
Typically, it costs millions of dollars to introduce an FMS into a factory.[3] Rather than
using a complete FMS, most companies use part of an FMS called a flexible
manufacturing cell. This is used to produce part of a product by machine and maybe part
by other methods. Often one or more AGV’s are used in FMS to connect work cells
together.

Implementation of robots in industries:

The Implementation Process

Success in implementing robots requires a systematic approach. The successful

implementation of industrial robots is best accomplished through a systematic, multi-step
process, which a robotic systems integrator can help you with. The sequence of steps for
robot implementation is as follows:

 Initial Survey -- review all factory operations, and develop a shopping list of
potential applications.
 Qualification -- reduce the shopping list to practicality, considering technical
feasibility and justification potential.
 Prioritization and Selection -- determine which application to start with and what
order to follow with the others.
 Justification -- develop economic and other rationale to support the decision to
implement.
  Application Engineering -- do all of the engineering up to and including the final
specification and selection of the particular robot to be used, the basic
configuration of the workplace and a detailed description of the robot's task.
 System Engineering -- develop the total manufacturing system into which the
robot will be integrated and all of the related changes to equipment, process and
product.
 Final Implementation -- prepare the site and people, install and program the robot
system, start up and monitor afterward

Justification

Justification for industrial robots must consider both economic and non-economic issues.
The implementation of robots requires significant resources -- money, time, people and
management attention. The returns must be measured in terms of overall benefits to the
company, not simply by payback period or return on investment. Following are elements
of the costs and benefits of robots:

Initial Costs:

 the system and related components (robots, end effectors, tooling, etc.)
 facilities, equipment revisions and rearrangements
 application engineering
 process and product changes
 training and transfers
 installation
 launching

Continuing Costs:

 cost of capital
 taxes and insurance
 maintenance labor, supplies and spare parts
 energy
  training

Benefits:

 improved quality and reliability

 increased productivity
 stronger competitive position
 increased flexibility
 decreased time to market
 safety and potential cost of disability
 savings on scrap and rework
 reduced direct labor costs and related expenses
 lower indirect costs
 depreciation
 advancement of technology

Human Factors

Senior management must be aware of and sensitive to employee concerns about robots.
The impact of robots will be felt plant-wide. Senior management must be aware that
employee concerns are related to their functions and are not all alike:

 Production management -- interested in the robot's contribution to solving

productivity, quality and work force problems, but not necessarily its contribution
to profits.
 Production supervision -- concerned with keeping the lines running and interested
in backup plans and maintenance support. Must have answers to workers'
questions about displacement, safety and the future.
 Skilled trade workers -- may need upgrading of basic skills. Need specialized
training and proper tools to keep the robot systems operating.
 Direct and indirect labor -- fear possible loss of employment. Need clear policy
statement regarding displacement and opportunities for retraining and
reassignment.
  Administrative and staff -- need definition of their responsibilities and recognition
of their importance to successful implementation.

Conclusion

Industrial robots can be significant factors in the improvement of productivity, quality,

profitability and, indeed, survival and should be an integral part of every manufacturing
and business strategy. Successful implementation of industrial robots is not easy. To
encourage success, it is up to senior management to provide the vision to see how vital
robotics technology is to manufacturing today and in the future, the climate and resources
necessary for implementation and the motivation to make it happen.

Safety considerations of robot operations:

SAFETY GUIDLINES
• THE UNEXPECTED ROBOT MOVEMENTS ARE THE CONCERN OF
EMPLOYEES FOR OBTAINING FURTHER GUIDELINES ON ROBOTICS
SAFETY.
• RESEARCHERS HAVE DEVELOPED MANY GUIDELINES PERTAINING
TO SAFETY ISSUES IN ROBOTS.

• FOLLOWING GUIDELINES ARE FOR SAFE USE OF ROBOTS IN A

PRODUCTION ENVIRONMENT:

 IF THE ROBOT IS NOT MOVING, DO NOT ASSUME IT IS NOT

GOING TO MOVE.
 IF THE ROBOT IS REPEATING PATTERN, DO NOT ASSUME IT
WILL CONTINUE.

 ALWAYS BE AWARE OF WHERE YOU ARE IN RELATIONSHIP TO

THE POSSIBLE POSITIONS THAT THE ROBOT MAY REACH.

 BE AWARE IF THERE IS POWER ACTUATORS. INDICATOR

LIGHTS WILL BE ON WHEN THERE IS POWER TO THE
ACTUATORS.

 TEACHING, PROGRAMMING, SERVICING, AND MAINTENANCE

ARE THE ONLY AUTHORIZED REASONS FOR ENTRY INTO THE
WORK ENVELOPE.

 BEFORE ACTIVATING POWER TO THE ROBOT, EMPLOYEES

SHOULD BE AWARE OF WHAT IT IS PROGRAMMED TO DO, THAT
ALL SAFEGUARDS ARE IN PLACE, AND THAT NO FOREIGN
MATERIALS ARE PRESENT WITHING THE WORK ENVELOPE.
  NOTIFY SUPERVISION IMMEDIATELY WHEN AN UNEXPECTED
INTERRUPTION TO THE NORMAL ROBOT WORK CYCLE
OCCURS.

 REPORT ANY MISSING OF DEFECTIVE SAFEGUARD TO

SUPERVISION IMMEDIATELY. CHECK ALL SAFEGUARDS AT THE
BEGINNING OT EACH SHIFT.

Economic analysis of robots:

Pay back method:

Simple Payback Method

Payback considers the initial investment costs and the resulting annual cash flow. The
payback period is the amount of time (usually measured in years) to recover the initial
investment in an opportunity. Unfortunately, the payback method doesn’t account for
savings that may continue from a project after the initial investment is paid back from the
profits of the project, but this method is helpful for a “first-cut” analysis of a project.
1. Payback With Equal Annual Savings
If annual cash flows are equal, the payback period is found by dividing the initial
investment by the annual savings.
Payback Period = Initial Investment Cost
(in years) Annual Operating Savings
Consider the example of a shop evaluating the purchase of a still to recycle its waste
solvent. The shop manager analyzes both his current operation and the option of using a
still. He sees that installation of a still will cost $7,700,

but provide a net annual operational savings of $4,634. When the net annual savings is
divided into the initial cost, the manager finds that the still will pay for itself in 1.7 years:
$7700 Investment Costs
$4634 Annual Savings
Payback Period = $4634 Annual Savings = 1.7 yrs
2. Payback With Unequal Annual Savings
The previous example assumes that the annual cash flow is the same each year. In reality,
there are significant costs such as depreciation and taxes that will cause cash flows to
vary each year. If the annual cash flow differs from year to year, the payback period is
determined when the accrued cash savings equal the initial investment costs (i.e., when
the cumulative cash flow balance equals zero). Table 2 illustrates the following example:

The initial investment in a pollution prevention project is $10,000. The projected savings
is $4,000 for the first year, $4,000 for the second year, $2,500 for the third year, $2,000 in
the fourth year, and $2,000 for the fifth year. The payback would be at 2.8 years.

Table 2. Example of Payback With Unequal Annual Cash Flow

Information from Lines 1 and 12 of the project analysis form on Table 3 can be used to
determine the payback period of a project (omit Lines 13 through 16). Line-by-line
instructions for using Table 3 are provided on its reverse side.

Net Present Value (NPV) Method

One of the advantages of the Net Present Value (NPV) method is that is accounts for the
time-value of money (i.e., the value of a dollar tomorrow is not the same as a dollar
today). The NPV method determines the worth of a project over time, in today’s dollars.
Unlike the payback method, NPV also accounts for the savings that occur after the
payback period. The greater the NPV value of a project, the more profitable it is. This
method can be used to rate and compare the profitability of several competing options.
Table 3 can be used to calculate NPV for a current practice and each pollution prevention
alternative. Line-by-line instructions for using Table 3 are provided on the reverse side of
the table. Lines 13 through 16 of Table 3 includes the use of present value factors to
convert annual values to today’s dollars. Table 4 provides present value factors that can
be used in calculating the NPV. The present value factor selected by a business will
depend on what each business has determined to be the most appropriate interest rate for
its operation. This interest rate depends on the cost of acquiring capital for that business,
and the rate of return they require from an investment in a project. Currently (year 2000),
it's about 15–20%.
Table 5 shows an example of the use of Tables 3 and 4 to calculate the NPV of the
payback example shown in Table 2. (Only selected lines of Table 3 are shown.)