FANUC's P-50i Compact Robot Designed for the Application of General Industrial Coatings

Article From legacy.roboticsonline.com

Brief Summary:

For many years robots have only been used in large automotive, aerospace and industrial facilities for finishing and painting due to their high costs. FANUC Robotics America, Inc. recognized this and designed their FANUC P-50i, a compact, low cost industrial coating robot for small and mid-sized job shops.

Robotic technology is nothing new to the finishing industry.
That's because of the ��overkill'� factor, according to Barton Faylor, manager of new products at FANUC Robotics America, Inc.
But if you're only going to buy [robotic] equipment for glove box covers, why buy a bigger robot?
Included in the new generation of robots is the FANUC P-50i , a compact robot designed for the application of general industrial coatings, as well as lens coating, mask painting and dispensing.
The six-axis machine is the ninth in a generation of FANUC coating robots designed to operate in hazardous environments.
The robot utilizes a hollow-wrist design which allows for all of the hoses used by the P-50i to be stored within the arm of the robot itself, protecting them from the elements and giving the robot a greater degree of mobility.
FANUC realized that a smaller, more flexible robot would only be a minor improvement if it was not accompanied by a tool that could help job shop owners streamline the sometimes complicated and time-consuming robot teaching process.
Consequently, the company's software developers created PaintPRO�, a PC-based simulation tool designed to simplify robotic path teaching and paint process development.
[PaintPRO�] is essentially is a virtual robot system
Reducing the amount of time that it takes to program robots � the fact that it is a virtual process means that programmers can teach the robot without having to shut the production line down for hours, or even days.
Because robots are becoming more and more flexible, Faylor believes that we can also look forward to more creative uses of robotics in the painting industry
Regardless of whether job shop owners are looking to invest in robotics now, or considering it for the future, Faylor says that it is important that prospective buyers do their homework.
��FANUC is one of several robotic suppliers,'� he says.

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