Understanding Dispensing Robots

Dispensing is one of the many tasks that a robot can do. There are several aspects that need to be understood before selecting a good dispensing robot. Let’s go through them to try to make things clear.

What is it? How does it work?

As the name suggests, a dispensing robot is any robot that dispenses a variety of items such as adhesives or paint. Other than dispensing materials, it also sometimes sorts and counts items, transfer parts or fills up tanks.

Their most important characteristic is that they are leak and ejection-proof. The nozzle end opens up to pour or dispense a specific predefined quantity of material or fluid at a specified location. It then closes. They use methods like precise shutoff and “suck back” to reduce the wastage of fluids via diaphragmatic valves and motors.

Types and applications

There are various types of dispensing robots available on the market adapted to all sorts of requirements. These types are defined by the kind of material they are dispensing, the needed speed and accuracy, which number of axes are required, and also which industry the robot will be used in. In light of that, two broad categories emerge One to three-axis robots and four to six-axis robots. Let’s look at them in-depth:

One to three axis: These robots are only capable of linear motion, and lack rotational movements because they are limited between one to three axis. This being said, thanks to their limited movement, they can operate with high speed and accuracy. One example of this is a benchtop robot. One axis is controlled by the bench and the other by the Cartesian robot mounted on top. Similarly, SCARA are also in this category with (3-4 axis) variants. A classic example of this robot type is the toothpaste filling robots in the consumer goods industry.

Four to six-axis robots: Capable of moving in multiplanes, four to six-axis robots are also called robotic arms. They have joints that enable linear movements but also rotational movements. This allows these dispensing robots to work on angular planes, multiplanes, and dispense fluid in a rotational motion. A classic example of this kind of robot is the paint robots used in the automotive sector. Applications range is:

Electronics
Plastic parts in plastic industry
Automotive
Aerospace
Pharmaceutical
Paint dispensing
Wax seals
Adhesives

Benefits

Among the many benefits of automated dispensing, the increase in throughput and assurance quality of the product and process, for manufacturers, is really quite cost-effective in the long run. To list a few more benefits, dispensing robots:

Increase throughput
Increase process reliability and repeatability
Reduce unwanted dispensing
Reduce manufacturing time
Guaranty accuracy, irrespective of dispensing surface
Increase the ROI
Remove safety issues in manual dispensing
Reduce manufacturing costs

Choose the best fit

The selection process of the proper dispensing robot is an important aspect when aiming to obtain full benefits. The following factors should be taken into consideration to insure the selection of the proper dispensing robot:

Dispensing methodology
Dimensions of the robot
Size of the part or fluids
Material loading
Robot speed
Number of axes required
Dispensing path and movement in axis
Add-on capabilities to work across production lines

One of the most important things to remember when choosing any robot is that they are not supposed to replace the human workforce but rather increase the efficiency, reliability and throughput of that workforce’s production line. Automation in dispensing robots allows this operation to run around the clock. This solution is certainly not perfect, but the benefits are considerable. Once all the conditions to choose the correct robot are met and the right path is selected, a manufacturer will see a visible difference in their output.