Open-Source Robotics Now Open To All…At An Attractive Price Point

With Industry 4.0, the so-called Smart Factory and the Internet of Things (IoT) currently occupying the limelight in the engineering world, it is easy to forget the substantial effect that previous ‘industrial revolutions’ have had on engineering and manufacturing.

Arguably, the advent of numerical control (NC) and – even more so – computer numerical control (CNC), brought about the biggest change in contemporary manufacturing operations, leading to the widespread adoption of automated and robotic solutions. Indeed, by linking computers with control solutions and the manufacturing ‘coal face’, companies now have easy access to the Big Data that is underpinning this latest round of industry buzzwords.

It is hard to imagine any production line or laboratory not having some form of automation in their midst, but robotics have not quite had the same level of saturation, primarily due to the ease at which simple, cost-effective solutions can be developed and deployed. But this is set to change, thanks to open source entering into the industrial world.

Underpinning the new initiative is a selection of tutorials hosted within the DesignSpark section of the RS website, which take visitors through all the steps necessary to build a fully working and open source programmable robotic arm based on the IGUS RobolinkD components.

In order to make the transition into a robot-equipped workplace, laboratory or classroom even easier, RS has created new robotic ‘bundles’ proving that open source easy programming, cost effective and flexibility can be now fully integrated with robotics. By using popular industrial formats, users have an incredible freedom of choice regarding onwards connectivity and integration with wider systems.

Although robots were originally conceived to replace human workers. Most of their benefits now arise from the way they complement the human workforce. By undertaking repetitive and laborious manual tasks, robots free up their much more ‘costly’ human peers to undertake more value-adding work that makes better use of their time and capabilities. These new robotic bundles also offer an attractive entry point for any smaller establishment, which may operate on a lower budget and they will bring the efficiency and reliability of robotic solutions to a far wider audience.

Tutorial 3: RS Online—How to apply an industrial open source motion control to the IGUS Robolink D

Tutorial 4: RS Online—Factory test for the IGUS RobolinkD with open source motion control

Editor's Note: This is a sponsored blog post by RS Components