Novel architecture of intelligent axes for fast integration into reconfigurable robot manipulators: a step towards sustainable manufacturing

Abstract

Sustainable manufacturing processes are defined as the totality of direct and related actions of goods creation which involve a reduced negative impact to environment, sufficient economical income together with society satisfaction, all of them linked in a long term commitment. A perspective on how fast integration of intelligent units into industrial robot manipulators can help to achieve future sustainable manufacturing is introduced in this paper. By combining the key characteristics of reconfiguration with the key issues of sustainability, a design model of fast reconfigurable robot manipulators is here proposed. To prove its potential, an experimental test bench was constructed around a plug-and-play intelligent electromechanical axis. The ongoing research work is focused on finding possibilities of how to endow usual robot manipulators with distributed intelligence and thus to extend equipment capabilities and performance in order to get closer to the goal of reconfiguration for sustainable manufacturing. Preventive maintenance, configuration options, self-integration and diagnosability together with a work record database have been implemented inside the experimental test bench. Results have concluded that plug-and-play intelligent axes are feasible for fast building of reconfigurable robot manipulators. Furthermore, an idea of how manufacturing environment should manage and use intelligent reconfigurable robot manipulators is also presented.