Everywhere you look, there are miniature items of what once was very large. In fact, one of the most popular miniaturizations is the standard hand-held phone. Have you ever wondered how they make the cell phone you carry around everywhere? With the human hand being so large compared to the tiny, intricate wiring and parts inside the phones, there must be a secret to how the units are built.
Robots
More common than ever before, the robot can be found in almost all of the world’s largest manufacturing structures – and for good reason. Not only can the robot do mindless and repetitive work that would bore a human to tears, but it can also do the mindless jobs with exactness and precision. Mounted to the side of a specific area, the robot is programmed for a central task. This could be packaging items, bin unpacking, or even inspection. However, the robot’s greatest benefit in manufacturing has proven to be pick and place technology.
Techs
A pick and place robot arm selects a single part off of one conveyor belt and places it onto another part on a different conveyor belt. In other words, the robot arm picks up one section of your phone, no matter how small it is, and places it onto a larger section of your phone. As the finished sections continue to move, different robot arms place different parts onto the phone section until the unit is ready for human intervention and inspection.
Benefits
The biggest benefits of the robots are the consistency, exactness, and speed with which the process can be completed. Some robots can pick and place 200 items in a single minute. Another benefit is that placement errors are almost negligible.
As technology continues to become smaller and more convenient, robots may be used even more than ever before. Using robots is a distinct advantage when items are miniaturized.
