Rethink Robotics, developer of collaborative robots for the manufacturing industry, has seen significant growth in the use of collaborative robotics solutions in the electronics industry. More and more companies are using the Sawyer collaborative robot from Rethink Robotics to increase the productivity of their production and relieve employees of repetitive tasks.

The collaborative robots from Rethink Robotics are characterized by the fact that they have intelligent force control. This enables precise and needs-based application of force when handling electronic assemblies, fragile components and high-quality accessories. For example, Sawyer can be used for assembling highly sensitive circuit boards or in the field of quality control for testing printed circuit boards.

Sawyer places the circuit boards in a test adapter, checks them for errors and sorts them according to the test result. (Image: Rethink Robotics)

PCB testing is a simple but time-consuming process. Bottlenecks can quickly occur when employees are needed for more complex production steps. The company ASM Assembly Systems, technology leader in the production of SMT solutions for the electronics industry and Factory of the Year 2016, has also set itself the goal of relieving skilled workers of monotonous tasks in order to use their manpower in the most value-adding way possible. In its production facility in Munich, the company uses Sawyer to insert PCBs into a test adapter, check them for errors and sort them according to the test result. This allows the employees to devote themselves to more complex tasks while the robot carries out the monotonous testing process.

Numerous electronics companies use collaborative robotics solutions in the direct vicinity of employees. Appropriate safety standards are therefore of particular importance. Sawyer's TÜV certification and integrated responsive force control enable safe collaboration between man and machine.

"With Sawyer, we offer companies a smart, secure and quick-to-implement solution that enables them to drive forward the automation of their production processes in a results-oriented manner and with the necessary flexibility," says Darius Wilke, Director European Business at Rethink Robotics. "Companies like ASM, where the digital factory is already a reality, can also use Sawyer to record and visualize production and performance data and feed it directly into their production IT and data analytics systems." as