DANISH firm Smooth Robotics has urged construction businesses in North Lanarkshire to take advantage of the free opportunity to get one-to-one introductory sessions on robotic welding technology at Smart Hub Lanarkshire.
The innovation centre, found at New College Lanarkshire’s Motherwell campus and funded by the UK Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund and North Lanarkshire Council, recently held three fully booked events showcasing Dundee-based SP Elements’ Universal Robots UR10E collaborative robot (cobot), featuring Smooth Robotics’ automated programming.
Designed to boost productivity and consistency, as well as aiding health and safety, the automated machines are growing in popularity through their user friendliness and ability to handle monotonous and fatiguing tasks, often freeing up workers to take on more complex jobs.
Project Scotland attended one recent demonstration to experience the technology first-hand – even getting to programme a weld, which involved the use of a tablet to direct the cut, and another option of physically pointing the cobot at waypoints.
Kenneth Pedersen, sales manager at Smooth Robotics APS, hopes experiencing the innovation in person removes any apprehension companies may have. “The key point is that this is way different to traditional welding,” he explained. “It’s more like a tool, and you need to experience it and use it with your hands so that you get a feel of how easy it is to adjust it, work with it, and how you can build a flow around it.
“I’m allowed to say this because I’m an older gentleman, but there’s a lot of older gentlemen who, for several years, have thought this will take their job away – in this case it’s actually just an automated arm that takes you away from repetitive tasks.”
Firms based in North Lanarkshire can book free cobot sessions at the Smart Hub, with the visits honed to their specific business needs. Free trials are also available for companies to utilise the technology within their own premises.
“Until somebody gets a chance to come to a facility like this and be hands-on, they don’t truly understand how quick and simple it is,” Ryan Sheridan, operational lead of Smart Hub Lanarkshire, said. “Once they press the buttons, set the job up, and carry that out for themselves (is) when it really hits home that this is accessible, and we can then help them find funding opportunities that, alongside the easy use of technology, means it becomes a real viable option.”
A number of businesses in the region are already utilising the technology. Ryan added that one of the drivers behind the Smart Hub’s push of cobots is the hope of returning Scotland to its past engineering and manufacturing glory.
“We want to make companies aware so that we can see Scotland flourish and ensure that industry stays here. Things went quiet for a little while and we were importing a lot – but we’re starting to see a real upturn, and in Lanarkshire there’s a lot of fabrication. It’s about making sure they succeed.”
North Lanarkshire College has a long-term goal of working with the SQA to create recognised qualifications around operating cobots, with current engineering students undertaking training courses on the tech to supplement their main studies.
“I think for their job prospects it would be massive,” Ryan revealed. “Anything that students can provide that’s over and above general qualification makes them stand out.”
Local schoolchildren are also benefiting from the cobot training, with youngsters brought in for sessions to introduce them to the technology, and also reprofile what modern engineering and manufacturing is.
“Many of them think it’s just a cold warehouse with no technology because that’s the old interpretation,” Ryan added. “However, it’s now a technology-driven sector and when they go through the training process, they walk away realising this is a career for them. Because this is all tablet-driven and user-friendly, they pick this up so quickly – it’s almost intuitive.”
