Mälardalen University Doctoral Dissertation 306 Fredrik Ore Human–industrial robot collaboration (HIRC) creates an opportunity for an ideal combination of human senses and industrial robot efficiency. The strength, endur- Designing workstations for ance and accuracy of industrial robots can be combined with human intelligence and flexibility to create workstations with increased productivity, quality and reduced ergonomic load compared with traditional manual workstations. Even COLLABORATION HUMAN–INDUSTRIAL FOR ROBOT WORKSTATIONS DESIGNING Human–Industrial Robot though multiple technical developments of industrial robot and safety systems have taken place over the last decade, solutions facilitating HIRC workstation design are Collaboration still limited. One element in realising an efficient design of a future workstation is a simulation software. Such a software must be used properly to support design Development and application of simulation software of optimal workstations. The thesis comprises five papers describing the development of a HIRC simulation Fredrik Ore software and its corresponding design process. The HIRC simulation software developed enables simulation, visualisation and evaluation of all kinds of HIRC workstations where human and robot simultaneously work in a collaborative environment, including hand-guiding tasks. Multiple layout alternatives can be visualised and compared with quantitative numbers of total operation time and biomechanical load on the human body. Existing engineering design methods were applied in a HIRC workstation context to describe the utilisation of a HIRC simulation software. These processes also include a safety measure, by which the collision forces between the industrial robot and the human are predicted. These forces have to be minimised to tolerable limits in order to design safe HIRC work- stations. These developments were demonstrated in five actual industrial cases from a heavy vehicle manufacturing company. The HIRC simulation software developed and the proposed workstation design process enable a more efficient HIRC workstation design. The possibility of design- ing and evaluating HIRC alternatives for hand-guiding activities is rarely found in other simulation software. The evaluation could include different types of layout – alternatives and workstations: HIRC, fully manual or fully automatic. All of these SOFTWARE SIMULATION OF APPLICATION AND DEVELOPMENT could be compared based on their total operation time and biomechanical load and thus be used in workstation design decision making. Fredrik Ore is an industrial Ph.D. candidate at the Innofacture Research School at Mälardalen University and is employed by Scania CV AB. Fredrik holds an M.Sc. in mechanical engineering from Luleå University of Technology. He has more than ten years of industrial experience from a variety of production engineering roles at Scania. 2020 Address: P.O. Box 883, SE-721 23 Västerås. Sweden ISBN 978-91-7485-456-5 Address: P.O. Box 325, SE-631 05 Eskilstuna. Sweden E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.mdh.se ISSN 1651-4238 1 Mälardalen University Press Dissertations No. 306 DESIGNING WORKSTATIONS FOR HUMAN − INDUSTRIAL ROBOT COLLABORATION DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATION OF SIMULATION SOFTWARE Fredrik Ore 2020 School of Innovation, Design and Engineering 2 Copyright © Fredrik Ore, 2020 ISBN 978-91-7485-456-5 ISSN 1651-4238 Frontpage illustration by Lars Frank Printed by E-Print AB, Stockholm, Sweden 3 Mälardalen University Press Dissertations No. 306 DESIGNING WORKSTATIONS FOR HUMAN–INDUSTRIAL ROBOT COLLABORATION DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATION OF SIMULATION SOFTWARE Fredrik Ore Akademisk avhandling som för avläggande av teknologie doktorsexamen i innovation och design vid Akademin för innovation, design och teknik kommer att offentligen försvaras fredagen den 14 februari 2020, 10.00 i Filen, Mälardalens högskola, Eskilstuna. Fakultetsopponent: Docent Cecilia Berlin, Chalmers Tekniska Högskola Akademin för innovation, design och teknik 4 Abstract Human-industrial robot collaboration (HIRC) creates an opportunity for an ideal combination of human senses and industrial robot efficiency. The strength, endurance and accuracy of industrial robots can be combined with human intelligence and flexibility to create workstations with increased productivity, quality and reduced ergonomic load compared with traditional manual workstations. Even though multiple technical developments of industrial robot and safety systems have taken place over the last decade, solutions facilitating HIRC workstation design are still limited. One element in realising an efficient design of a future workstation is a simulation software. Thus the objective of this research is to (1) develop a demonstrator software that simulates, visualises and evaluates HIRC workstations and (2) propose a design process of how to apply such a simulation software in an industrial context. The thesis comprises five papers describing the development of a HIRC simulation software and its corresponding design process. Two existing simulation software tools, one for digital human modelling and one for robotic simulation, were merged into one application. Evaluation measures concerning operation time and ergonomic load were included in the common software. Existing engineering design methods were applied in a HIRC workstation context to describe the utilisation of a HIRC simulation software. These developments were demonstrated in five actual industrial cases from a heavy vehicle manufacturing company. The HIRC simulation software developed enables simulation, visualisation and evaluation of all kinds of HIRC workstations where human and robot simultaneously work in a collaborative environment including hand-guiding tasks. Multiple layout alternatives can be visualised and compared with quantitative numbers of total operation time and biomechanical load on the human body. An integrated HIRC workstation design process describes how such a simulation software can be applied to create suitable workstations. This process also includes a safety measure by which the collision forces between the industrial robot and the human are predicted. These forces have to be minimised to tolerable limits in order to design safe HIRC workstations. The HIRC simulation software developed and the proposed workstation design process enable more efficient HIRC workstation design. The possibility of designing and evaluating HIRC alternatives for hand-guiding activities is rarely found in other simulation software. The evaluation could include different types of layout alternatives and workstations: HIRC, fully manual or fully automatic. All of these could be compared based on their total operation time and biomechanical load and thus be used in workstation design decision making. ISBN 978-91-7485-456-5 ISSN 1651-4238 5 ABSTRACT Human-industrial robot collaboration (HIRC) creates an opportunity for an ideal combination of human senses and industrial robot efficiency. The strength, endurance and accuracy of industrial robots can be combined with human intelligence and flexibility to create workstations with increased productivity, quality and reduced ergonomic load compared with traditional manual workstations. Even though multiple technical developments of industrial robot and safety systems have taken place over the last decade, solutions facilitating HIRC workstation design are still limited. One element in realising an efficient design of a future workstation is a simulation software. Thus the objective of this research is to (1) develop a demonstrator software that simulates, visualises and evaluates HIRC workstations and (2) propose a design process of how to apply such a simulation software in an industrial context. The thesis comprises five papers describing the development of a HIRC simulation software and its corresponding design process. Two existing simulation software tools, one for digital human modelling and one for robotic simulation, were merged into one application. Evaluation measures concerning operation time and ergonomic load were included in the common software. Existing engineering design methods were applied in a HIRC workstation context to describe the utilisation of a HIRC simulation software. These developments were demonstrated in five actual industrial cases from a heavy vehicle manufacturing company. The HIRC simulation software developed enables simulation, visualisation and evaluation of all kinds of HIRC workstations where human and robot simultaneously work in a collaborative environment including hand-guiding tasks. Multiple layout alternatives can be visualised and compared with quantitative numbers of total operation time and biomechanical load on the human body. An integrated HIRC workstation design process describes how such a simulation software can be applied to create suitable workstations. This process also includes a safety measure by which the collision forces between the industrial robot and the human are predicted. These forces have to be minimised to tolerable limits in order to design safe HIRC workstations. The HIRC simulation software developed and the proposed workstation design process enable more efficient HIRC workstation design. The possibility of designing and evaluating HIRC alternatives for hand-guiding activities is rarely found in other simulation software. The evaluation could include different types of layout alternatives and workstations: HIRC, fully manual or fully automatic. All of these could be compared based on