Double-Gripper Robot in a Single-Machine Cell

A double-gripper robot has two gripping devices attached to the wrist. They can be put into action independently. The double gripper can be utilized to handle finished and unfinished items simultaneously. It helps in increase in the productivity. A numerical instance has been given to clarify this point.

Example

In this case study, we elucidate the development in productivity with the use of double-handed grippers using the data in the previous example.

Solution

The operation sequence along with double-handed gripper is

Machine cycle time = 35 sec.

Robot loads the part onto the machine = 1.0 sec

Robot unloads the shaft from the lathe = 0.5 sec

The total cycle time is 36.5 sec.

Thus the production rate considering system availability is

Production rate =

 = 671 units per shift.

The productivity enhance obtained by utilizing a double-handed gripper is

(617 - 500) / 500 = 0.234 or 23.4%.