Industrial robots, including cooperative robots, are increasingly replacing tablets with safety devices. IDEC's Safety Commander™ is receiving a surge of inquiries about its features and advantages.
We interviewed IDEC about the features and benefits of the IDEC Safety Commander™, which is receiving a rapidly growing number of inquiries.
IDEC has released a series of Safety Commander™ products that can be attached to commercially available tablets to enhance safety, robustness, and reliability by enabling mechanical switches such as emergency stop switches and 3-position enabling switches, as well as wired LAN communication. In recent years, the introduction of commercially available tablet devices into various machines and equipment has been promoted at manufacturing sites due to their easy-to-understand screen displays and touch panels for ease of operation. On the other hand, direct operation of industrial robots and autonomous mobile robots (AMR) using only a tablet device in close proximity to a machine is extremely risky because the machine cannot be stopped immediately in the event of an emergency.
The ISO/10218 series of international standards for industrial robots and robot systems, which are scheduled for revision, will incorporate the contents of ISO/TS 15066, the technical specification for cooperative robots, and will require the use of new safety functions and safety devices for many industrial robots, including cooperative robots. The new safety functions and the use of safety devices for many industrial robots, including cooperative robots, are now required. The Safety Commander™ is rapidly gaining attention in the industry not only for its ease of use at the manufacturing site, but also for its effectiveness in ensuring safety and improving worker wellbeing, and inquiries are pouring in.
Safety Commander™ is used for teaching industrial robots, operation control of large equipment and machinery, control of automobile production lines and conveyor lines, control of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, chip mounters, food machinery, packaging machinery, and other equipment, and manual control of AGV/AMR, etc. control, etc. The number of companies that have already introduced the system and the number of cases where the system is being introduced on a test basis total more than one hundred, as shown in the opening comments.
We interviewed the team in charge of IDEC, the developer of the product, to find out why the Safety Commander™ has attracted so much attention and what kind of functions it has.
and Mr. Nakajima (right), Manager, System Products, Switch Business Strategy Department, Product Strategy Division, IDEC Corporation
Effective Safety Commander™ for compliance with international standards for tablet operation
Teaching pendants, which are dedicated devices from various companies, have been widely used for teaching industrial robots. The teaching pendant must be equipped with an emergency stop switch and a three-position enabling switch in accordance with the ISO 10218 series, an international standard that specifies the safety of industrial robots and their systems, in order to reduce risks when a human and a robot work in close proximity. The ISO 10218 series of international standards specifies the safety of industrial robots and their systems to reduce risk when approaching work.
On the other hand, as cooperative robots and AGV/AMRs (automated guided vehicles/autonomous mobile robots) begin to become popular, general-purpose tablets with high expressive power, excellent operability, and relatively low cost are increasingly being used in place of conventional teaching pendants. The challenge, then, is the safety of tablet operation. The challenge, then, is the safety of tablet operation. Even with such tablets that excel in expressiveness and operability, risk reduction in the field is essential, and there has been a growing demand for safety devices such as emergency stop switches and three-position enabling switches.
Therefore, we have introduced the latest model, Type HT4P, which answers the need to install emergency stop switches, 3-position enabling switches, and other mechanical switches depending on the application on tablets with good operability and high cost performance. Mr. Nakajima of IDEC, who was in charge of the planning, said, "Many end users who use robots and automated guided vehicles (AGVs) at factory automation sites consider that tablets must also have safety functions and set internal regulations. This trend was reflected in global safety standards, and the HT4P was newly developed as a product that can easily add an emergency stop switch and a 3-position enabling switch to tablets on the market, and can be used with a hand strap or shoulder strap for stable operation and a wired LAN communication system that can be used safely even in environments where Wi-Fi is not available. The HT4P model was newly developed as a product that can be operated stably using a hand strap or shoulder strap, and can be used in environments where Wi-Fi is not available, and where communication via LAN is possible.
HT4P Safety Commander™
Let's take a look at the main features of the HT4P Safety Commander™ announced in November 2022.
Easily detachable and fixable to tablets
The "HT4P type" is equipped with a slide mechanism and designed to be easily attached to 10- to 13-inch tablets. Once installed, the tablet can be secured with a locking lock that prevents accidental removal.
Right- or left-handed, ergonomic design
The ergonomic grip structure of the Safety Commander™ and the placement of the enabling switches make it easy to hold and operate the tablet regardless of the user's dominant hand. The author actually held the device and found that it feels natural and can be held firmly in the hand, and the enable buttons are placed at the fingertips. Hand strap (standard) and shoulder strap (optional) are available to prevent falling during hand-held operation and to reduce the workload over long periods of time.
Safety mechanism is adopted to release the shoulder strap when a load is applied to it
Furthermore, the shoulder strap has a safety function that disengages when the load exceeds a certain level.
Tablets support both portrait and landscape placement
The rotating grip allows the tablet to be set and operated in portrait or landscape, or in the direction desired for operation.
Mechanical switches can be installed
The HT4P model is equipped with a safety-compliant emergency stop switch as standard, allowing the robot or equipment to be stopped at any time. In addition, illuminated pushbutton switches, key selector switches, and joysticks can be installed in a customized manner as options.
illuminated push buttons (one green and one red), and a key selector.
Wired LAN compatible / powered
The "HT4P type" can be equipped with a USB/LAN converter so that tablet operations can be exchanged over a more reliable wired LAN. In addition, with built-in USB Power Delivery, the tablet is always ready to be powered, so there is no need to worry about running out of battery power.
Robustness and dust resistance
Other features include a robustness rating of 1.2m drop resistance under certain conditions, and an IP54 protection structure for water splash, dust, and dusty environments.
■ HT4P Safety Commander™ functionality for tablets used in production
Developer interview: "We get the most inquiries from manufacturers."
Editorial Department :
With the release of the "HT4P type" last fall, the lineup of safety commander™ has been expanded to include two models.
Mr. Nakajima :
We launched the "HT3P type" at the beginning of the year before last and received several requests from customers who had installed the product.
Three major requests were reflected in the new "HT4P type".
One issue was that they wanted to migrate from relatively expensive pendants to tablets, but could not use the tablet Wi-Fi function because wireless LAN was not available due to company regulations and there were concerns about the effects of noise in the factory.
The second concern is that other than emergency stop switches and enable switches, switches for important operations must be mechanical, such as push buttons or selector switches, rather than touch panels, in order to meet company regulations.
Third, since tablets with large screens, such as 13-inch tablets, have more information on the screen, faster CPU processing speeds, and better cost performance, there was a desire to see support for large-screen tablet models as well.
Editorial Department :
From what types of businesses do you receive the most inquiries and inquiries?
Mr. Nakajima :
We receive the most inquiries from robot manufacturers. Traditionally, manufacturers have developed and produced pendant hardware and software from scratch, but this has resulted in high component manufacturing and development costs. It is also affected by the termination of manufacturing of components such as semiconductors. Furthermore, many advantages can be expected, such as the ability to concentrate resources only on software development, and in many cases, software can be used without modification even if the tablet is a new model.
For these reasons, many robot manufacturers are considering replacing their proprietary teaching pendants with a combination of commercially available tablets and our Safety Commander™.
Editorial Department :
I see and I now understand why industrial robot manufacturers are paying so much attention to us. However, there are some places, such as cooperative robots, that are already operating with tablets.
Mr. Nakajima :
Even for cooperative robots, risk assessment and risk reduction measures based on risk assessment are necessary. Currently, ISO/TS15066, the technical specification for cooperative robots, allows the inclusion of a 3-position enabling switch to be excluded if the risk reduction is sufficient. However, an emergency stop switch is required. In addition, risk assessment must be conducted assuming that the robot system works with humans, and it is very difficult to prove that sufficient risk reduction has been implemented for a single robot that does not include end-effectors and workpieces.
As such, a new ISO/10218 series of international standards for industrial robots and robot systems is expected to be issued in the future that will include requirements for cooperative robots, and new safety functions and safety devices such as emergency stop switches and 3 Safety devices such as the emergency stop pushbutton switches and 3-position enabling switches that Safety Commander™ is equipped with are required. The use of "Safety Commander™" is the best way to respond to this growing global safety awareness.
In many cases, laptops and tablets are used to control AGVs and AMRs, but more and more companies are considering tablets + safety commanders™ for safety reasons for these as well. There is also a need to replace the touch panels used in the control panels of large equipment, etc., as well as robots, with tablets in factories. This is to reduce costs and improve convenience. For this reason, we have received many inquiries from manufacturers, SIers, and other development personnel who would like to try out Safety Commander™.
In addition, according to Mr. Nakajima, companies that are already using tablets in the field are beginning to propose the use of tablets not only for control purposes, but also as an extended tool for combining with camera equipment, viewing manuals, check sheets, Excel data, etc., checking, replying to, and posting e-mail and SMS messages, and other operations with the high versatility that only tablets can provide. In addition to use for control purposes, the company has begun to propose tablets as an extension tool that can be used in combination with camera equipment, to view manuals, check sheets, and Excel data, and to check and reply to e-mail and SMS messages.
Tablet + Safety Commander™, the key to the evolution of the control panel
In our daily lives, for example, bank ATMs and vending machines, which used to be operated by mechanical switches, are increasingly being replaced by touch panels. This is the same trend for devices that operate in factories and manufacturing sites. The number of devices with touch panel operation has increased rapidly compared to 10 years ago, and is expected to increase further in the future.
The next step in the evolution of operation panels is expected to be from a fixed type to a mobile type that can be used more flexibly and for a variety of purposes, while maintaining touch panel input and display. Especially with the increasing number of robots, AGVs, AMRs, and other equipment that are multifunctional, have a wide range of tasks, move around by themselves, and frequently change systems, it is inevitable that operation panels will also have to be adapted accordingly. In such cases, Tablet + Safety Commander™ is the perfect combination.
In addition, in order to advance the IoT, which visualizes and analyzes data collected from equipment and the field and feeds it back to control, and to increase productivity, it is effective to bring the production control data currently handled by tablets and the touch panel used to operate machine and equipment control closer together and integrate them. The key to this, again, is the use of tablets, and getting closer to the OT side, the machine operation side. From this point of view, the combination of tablet + Safety Commander™ is beneficial and can be a solution to realize the evolution of DX and IoT.
As a manufacturer specializing in control and safety, IDEC will continue to evolve the way tablets are used in manufacturing through Safety Commander™ to realize digitization and safe automation in factories, warehouses, and distribution facilities.
We have also prepared a Technical Paper that introduces the optimal combination of tablets and IDEC's Safety Commander, which is the key to the evolution of tablet utilization and operation panels in the manufacturing field.