Assembly 4.0: Wheel Hub Nut Assembly Using a Cobot

Paper in proceeding, 2019

To achieve a flexible and adaptable assembly system (assembly 4.0) a combination of enabling resources and technologies are required. Collaborative robots (Cobots) are one such technology that can offer higher flexibility and quick adaptability in assembly systems. Cobots are becoming more common in the manufacturing industry, the use and application of cobots are constantly growing. Combining cobots with IIoT gives the possibilities to also communicate with cobots and employees to achieve an effective assembly system. This paper presents a design research experiment conducted using cobots in a lab environment. The experiment studies the use of cobots in a final assembly environment with the focus on testing feasibility, improving quality and ergonomics of a real industrial operation. The experiment setup is presented in detail and the results are discussed along with future research directions.