Associating robot manipulators with industrial welding operations is common and maybe one of the most successful applications of industrial robots. Nevertheless, it is far from being a solved technological process, mainly because the welding process is not fully understood but also because...

Industrial robots play an important role in industry, due to their flexibility. Many applications (almost all that require human intervention) may be performed with advantages by robots. Nevertheless, set‐up operations, necessary when changing production models, are still tricky and...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report a collection of developments that enable users to program industrial robots using speech, several device interfaces, force control and code generation techniques. Design/methodology/approach – The reported system is explained in detail and a...

Purpose – Interaction with robot systems for the specification of manufacturing tasks needs to be simple since the paper targets the widespread use of robots in small and medium enterprises (SMEs). In the best case, existing practices from manual work could be used, to ensure current employees...

Purpose – A review of safety‐technology, applicable safety‐related standards and the impact on the use of robots in industrial environments. Design/methodology/approach – Technological developments are presented in safety‐related control technology, including programmable safety...

Purpose – Describes how BMW is investing in new body‐in‐white capital equipment to make a new version of the Mini due out in 2007. Design/methodology/approach – Describes the major production line technologies that are under close scrutiny to manufacture the body shell of the next...

Purpose – Aims to determine how BMW's use of robots in car manufacturing is evolving. Design/methodology/approach – Presents the latest applications of robots at BMW's Regensburg plant where the new small 1‐series car started production in 2004. Findings – Finds that robots are being...

Purpose – This work demonstrates the development of a robot, which was designed for the orbital welding of pipes. Design/methodology/approach – The robot consists of a small car pressed against the pipe by means of chains, which are used by the robot to move around it. To provide all...

Purpose – This paper presents a new method for deploying RoboCrane‐type cable robots, without the need for fixed rigid cable support points. That is, the system provides its own deployable mobile overhead support points. Design/methodology/approach – This paper presents a new RoboCrane...

Purpose – Top‐face control of weld penetration in TIG welding is required for fully automated systems to overcome variations in the welding process and fixturing systems. Design/methodology/approach – This paper presents a system based upon based on the real‐time vision measurement and...