Find yourself asking “Why did my robot trip out?” So did we. 7 years ago.
Collaborative robots are without question one of the most significant developments in modern laboratory automation. The ability to integrate complex laboratory instrumentation has never been so flexible or achievable, and the inherent human safety provided by this technology is by far its greatest advantage.
Another one of the big byproducts of this cutting-edge lab automation technology is the huge reduction and often entire risk removal of damage to delicate and expensive instrumentation when sharing the same space as fast-moving robots.
However, 7 years ago we at Flexible Lab Solutions identified a widespread challenge in collaborative robot automation: The occasional, but far too frequent, tripping of collaborative robots that occurs during pick-and-place moves. The recurrent source of most is the cumulative positional errors that arise when moving between instrumentation and accessories - all of which tend to be from an array of vendors. The range of tolerances is present in XY motorised stages, through to the moulded plastic of the microplates themselves.
Once isolated, extensive R&D tests were completed to help develop a new generation of storage solutions.
With the recent drive towards low-cost automated lab peripherals and the increased post-Covid demand for automation capability, high-activity labs are likely experiencing a significant increase in instances of this phenomenon. Whilst this still only occurs in a very small percentage of cases, the very nature of lab automation regularly necessitates high volumes of moves.
Consider a simple process such as dispensing into a plate before incubating (and finally reading). For each plate, this will involve four separate pick-and-place moves, and so even for small 50-plate runs, the number of moves would be 200. Although pretty easy maths, even a 1% failure rate will give two placement errors and a 0.5% failure rate would still result in a single stoppage every run. Often these can be overcome by introducing a realignment process into the automated lab robotic moves via either passive or dynamic alignment tools, but consideration should be given to the impact on cobot throughput speeds which could potentially be significant.
Once isolated, extensive R&D tests were completed to help develop a new generation of storage solutions. We ran a series of tests and trialled different mounting options, eventually realising that the best solution was to simply build our accessories for the current generation of collaborative robots - not the robots of the past. And so the XSeries hotels were born! The advanced 10-way XLocator system introduces positional compensation while maintaining the best features of traditional storage hotels: high repeatability and ease of use. The answer had been in our name all along: Flexibility.
Our next generation XHotel range is part of our Labworx accessories line, the XSeries. The different XHotel options fit seamlessly onto our XLocator docking system.
Research and development investment in the pursuit of automation advancement is a key part of the Flexible Lab Solutions mission; designing, building and providing bespoke solutions is our USP.
Do you struggle with your collaborative robots tripping out?
Or is there an obstacle that you’re facing? Fancy giving us a challenge? We’re happy to have a chat at our offices at the Kent Science Park to help provide a flexible solution for your trials, and to arrange a demo with the fully functional development cell that we keep on site.