When Does a Robot Beat a Custom Mechanism for Heavy Material Handling?
How to choose between an industrial robot and a custom mechanism for heavy in-plant handling: part variety, payload, safety standards, controls, and cost.
Connecting a FANUC Robot to an Allen-Bradley PLC over EtherNet/IP
How a FANUC robot connects to an Allen-Bradley PLC over EtherNet/IP: adapter registration, RPI, I/O buffering, handshakes, and CIP Safety timing.
Sizing an Industrial Robot: Payload, Reach, Wrist Moment, and Inertia
How to size an industrial robot for a heavy load: payload with tooling, load diagrams, wrist moment, and wrist inertia, with a worked example in SI units.
Heavy-Payload Industrial Robots Compared: Payload, Reach, Wrist Ratings
Heavy-payload industrial robots from 500 to 2,300 kg compared on payload, reach, wrist moment and inertia, repeatability labels, mass, and cell controls.
PLC-Driven Robot Motion with the FANUC PLC Motion Interface
What the FANUC PLC Motion Interface does, how it differs from Logix kinematics, and what the robot controller and safety system still own in the cell.
Robots on 7th-Axis Tracks and Positioners for Large Parts
How robot controllers run a 7th-axis track or a positioner with the arm, what track specifications give for load, travel time and stopping, and the controls.
End-of-Arm Tooling Design and Holding-Force Calculations
How robot end-of-arm tooling is sized: friction and capture grip force, vacuum cup holding force with load cases, magnetic gripper limits, and controls.
Robot Cell ROI for Heavy Material Handling Applications
How to estimate robot cell ROI for heavy material handling: the NIST payback formula, what a cell costs beyond the robot, and which savings to count.