With pressures to continue updating and expanding looming large, manufactures are faced with the challenges of how to proceed with these updates most effectively.

For some small and medium sized manufacturers, it’s often not feasible to build a completely new building where automation upgrades are perfectly mapped out based on new floorplans.

The next option becomes updating the current facility and adding automation to an existing floorplan.

With some layout creativity and the ability to implement robotic systems without the need for bulky fencing, this is a completely viable option.

Automation with Small Footprint – Cobots

Using industrial robots in a manufacturing or distribution facility requires a large amount of floorspace.

Since these robots do not have internal safety measures, they require external safety like fences and area scanners. This adds to the required floorspace for the system.

Thankfully there is a floorspace saving option – cobots.

Collaborative robots have internal safety sensors which means they do not require extra fencing or scanners. This, combined with the small footprint of the robot base itself, means the cobots take up a fraction of the space that a larger industrial robot may take up.