Human-robot collaboration on an assembly station with the ability to work reverse

The automation level of today’s industries is categorized as high. Some specific areas cannot be fully automated, such as manual assembly operations. Manual assembly stations often require high flexibility due to variation in products and product types, and some operations also require human finesse for conducting the operations. A collaborative robot is produced to facilitate for the worker during operations and tasks, which can be categorized as non-ergonomically and repetitive. The technical specification for the collaborative robots is not yet fully developed, and therefore it might be hard to create a safe work environment. Design and creation is the research strategy used for the project, much due to the aim of creating something physical. The project aims to establish a demonstrator, and introduce a collaborative robot, a UR5 for human-robot collaboration for a manual assembly operations with the ability to work reverse. The fictional workflows implemented in the demonstrator are established with influence from real manual assembly operations and parts included in an engine of a truck. The widgets identified and included in the workflows are created and 3D-printed. The main goal for the project is to establish a collaboration between the worker and the robot and create a baseline for a future safety evaluation conducted on the demonstrator. The project included identification of equipment and widgets necessary, the layout of the demonstrator, workflow establishment for both assembly and disassembly, together with the configuration of the equipment and programming of the collaborative robot. Safety standards concerning robots and collaborative robots, together with the technical specification not yet fully developed, worked as a base during the establishment of the workflow, configuration of the equipment, and programming of the robot. The established workflow can work both for assembly and disassembly. The workflow includes tasks that are performed separately, together, and simultaneous on the same workpiece. Experiments have been conducted on the established workflows, and observations conducted on the tasks performed. Aspects, such as time consumption for individual tasks, risk identification of quasi-static and transient contacts, and gripper position have been included during the observation