One company, Multiply Labs, has created a system to overcome these challenges by using robots and RoboDK Software.

Using Multiply Labs’ innovative approach, automated cell therapy manufacturing has the potential to significantly reduce costs while ensuring statistically equivalent outcomes to manual processes in terms of cell yields, viability, and phenotype.

This new system could bring about a new era of producing this type of therapy, surpassing the previous time-consuming manual processes, and ultimately, supporting the scalability of cell therapies for patients in need.

Let’s look at how they used RoboDK to create the system.

What Is Cell Therapy Manufacturing

Cell therapy involves growing cells in a controlled environment. These are then placed into the body to replace damaged or diseased cells or modulate the function of the patient’s cells. This therapy is at the forefront of biomedical innovation, being used to treat cancer, autoimmune conditions, and various others.

The challenge with this type of manufacturing is the need to maintain strict purity, potency, and safety throughout the complex multi-stage production process. This involves cultivation of the cells, multiplication, and processing in a controlled environment.

Some of the unique challenges of cell therapy manufacturing include:

• High complexity of both materials and process.
• Tracking and testing of cell activity and safety.
• Need for customization with patient-specific manufacturing.
• Logistical challenges involved in handling live cells.
• Scaling these biological processes to be accessible.

The promises of cell therapy are huge… but only with a reliable process for producing the cells.

Introducing Multiply Labs…

This is where Multiply Labs comes in. The company originates from a shared passion for robotics among its founders, who met at MIT.

Based in San Francisco, California, Multiply Labs specializes in developing industry-leading automated manufacturing systems to produce individualized drugs. The team combines a unique blend of mechanical and electrical engineering, software development, and pharmaceutical science.

The company believes that robotics and automation have great potential for improving patient accessibility and unlocking the scalability of these cell therapy treatments. They aim to create flexible robotic systems that are compatible with the market-leading pharmaceutical manufacturing instruments, so that manufacturers do not need to significantly change their existing processes.

Their systems are modular and can operate in parallel. This allows them to achieve high throughput, as scalability is a core concern for many pharmaceutical manufacturers.

Fred Parietti, CEO and Co-Founder says:

At Multiply Labs, we are actively developing a cell therapy robotic system, which can operate market-leading GMP instruments already widely deployed for cell therapy manufacturing. This is part of our ongoing, company-wide quest to pioneer a fully automated, end-to-end process for cell therapy manufacturing. To bring this vision to life during the development process, we use renders to showcase what we’re building.

The Robotic System for Personalized T-Cells

One of the company’s latest developments is a robotic system for cell therapy manufacturing. The company recently released a peer reviewed study showing that a robotic cell expansion process can match the performance, and reduce the cost of a manual process. 

The system leverages robotic modules, automating market-leading instruments currently leveraged for cell therapy manufacturing. Manufacturers have the flexibility to combine and mix and match robotic modules to best match their process, and they can drive high throughput via multiple parallel modules. 

Multiply Labs tested the robotic system against a comparable manual process. They found that the results were statistically indistinguishable.

Fred Parietti, the company’s co-founder and CEO, says:

We are so excited by this initial data as it opens the door to accelerating the availability of cell therapies. This data demonstrates that manufacturers can confidently automate their existing processes for cell expansion, without making significant modifications to the process itself, effectively minimizing bioprocess and regulatory risks.

With more automation, the labor cost of cell therapy manufacturing can be lowered enough to make cell therapies accessible to many more people.

The Role of RoboDK

RoboDK was a key part of creating the company’s modular robotic system. The team used it for early research, simulation creation, debugging, rendering, and various other stages of their development.

A unique aspect of how the team used RoboDK was in their rendering of the simulations, to demonstrate what Multiply Labs is trying to achieve before the physical prototype was ready.

Xiaojie Chen, robotics engineer at Multiply Labs, says:

We started using RoboDK in March 2023 and found it’s an excellent solution to help the team. The RoboDK team also rapidly solved the bugs we saw during the beta, so we are one of the first teams to use this function. The entire project was done incredibly fast, with several team members working closely.

5 Key Ways Multiply Labs Used RoboDK

RoboDK was instrumental in the team’s achievement at various stages of their development.

Here are 5 key ways the team used RoboDK:

• Early Research and Collision Prevention — The team first used RoboDK to conduct early research tests and ensure that there were no collisions between components.
• Creating Accurate Simulations — RoboDK’s ability to simulate very accurate motions was a critical factor to Multiply Labs using it.
• Rendering and Blender Export — The team wanted to create high-quality visual renderings of their simulations to demonstrate the prototype. For this, they created the models in CAD, ran the simulations in RoboDK, then exported into Blender using an Add-in for further rendering.
• Rapid Response to Feedback — One benefit to using RoboDK is that it allows smooth passing of models with other software packages. Its Blender Export function, for example, allowed the team to save a lot of time and get rapid feedback from the team.
• Education and Efficiency — The ease of learning was an essential aspect to Multiply Lab’s adoption of RoboDK. It allowed their engineers to focus on engineering rather than learning new software

Changing Pharmaceutical Manufacturing

Multiply Labs is passionate not only about robotics, but about creating a future where manufacturing of life-saving cell therapies is accessible, efficient, and reliable.

Currently, the development and manufacturing of cell therapies are exorbitantly expensive, hindering broad access to life-saving treatments. In fact, as much as 50% of manufacturing costs stem from labor-intensive manual processes and a lack of skilled workers. By employing Multiply Labs’ innovative approach, automated cell therapy manufacturing has the potential to significantly reduce costs while driving increased scalability.

What questions do you have about this? Tell us in the comments below or join the discussion on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or in the RoboDK Forum.. Also, check out our extensive video collection and subscribe to the RoboDK YouTube Channel

The post Transforming Cell Therapy Manufacturing: The Power of Robotics at Multiply Labs appeared first on RoboDK blog.

Both custom tools and macros allow to automate more complex robot tasks and adapt the basic robotic hardware to your needs.

RoboDK offers various features for creating powerful robot macros. With these, you can take your robot deployments to new heights by adding extra functionality that would not be available otherwise. And with its support for custom tools, there’s no limit to the accessories you can add to your robot.

Here’s how you can harness the power of custom macros and tools:

The Role of Robot Macros in Streamlining Complex Tasks

In the context of industrial robotics, a macro is essentially a pre-defined sequence of commands or scripts that allows you to automate complex programming tasks.

A macro script will, for example, convert a specific input or robot command into a desired output. They can be used to control the simulated robot within RoboDK or the physical robot in your workspace.

An example could be using a robot arm for a welding task. Macros could automate the arm’s motion along the desired welding path, operate a specific welding tool, and even adjust welding parameters on the fly to accommodate more complex welding operations.

Creating Your First Robot Macro in RoboDK

How can you create a macro for your robot application within RoboDK.

Here is the process that you can take:

1. Create your simulation without the macro first. Use as much of the basic RoboDK functionality as you can, to identify where a custom macro is really required. You may find that you don’t need a macro, as RoboDK has an impressive range of in-built functionality.
2. Choose your programming language. You can program macros in RoboDK using whichever programming language you are most comfortable using. RoboDK’s API seamlessly integrates with popular languages like Python, C#, C++, and Matlab.
3. Create and optimize your macro scripts. Create a macro script that carries out your desired functionality. Keep it simple — you only want to add the functionality that is really required.
4. Activate and thoroughly test the macro. Load the macro into the RoboDK simulation environment and put it through its paces. You will probably need to tweak the script to get it ready.
5. Continuously improve. The most useful macros are those that have been optimized over time. Where possible, improve existing macros when you notice ways you could improve them.

Custom Tools: An Essential Asset in RoboDK

A related concept within RoboDK is custom tools. These allow you to add any tool or end effector to your robot application.

There are too many robot tools on the market to incorporate all of them in our Robot Library. By providing this method to integrate custom tools, we have opened up any tool to the power of RoboDK… even tools that you have custom designed yourself for your application!

You can find a complete guide to adding custom tools in our article The 5 Minute Guide to Use Any End Effector with RoboDK.

7 Example Macros to Help You Get Started

It’s easier to understand what you can achieve with macros when you see ones that already exist.

Macro functionality can be complex, such as running entire routines with your robot, or simple, such as turning on a single output to activate a tool.

Here are just 7 of the many macros that are included in RoboDK:

1. CameraLiveStream — This macro demonstrates some of the basic functionalities to handle 2D cameras with the RoboDK API, such as setting camera parameters and displaying a live stream.
2. DoPointWeld — This macro simulates a spot weld gun, allowing you to turn the gun on and off. This is ideal for welding applications such as those in automotive manufacturing.
3. Draw_SVG — This macro programs a robot to draw a picture using an SVG image file as an input. This can be especially useful when you are designing personalized products for your customers.
4. MirrorRealRobot — This macro creates a bridge that moves the physical robot to match your simulated robot. For example, you can use it to control your robot with a 3D mouse or other input device.
5. SetTool_ID — This simple macro updates the robot’s tool to a given identification number that you pass as an argument. One use case is in CNC machining, where tool changes are frequent.
6. SpindleOn — This macro allows you to add a trace or spray deposition for surface coating of materials. It activates the spindle.
7. WaitDI — This macro simulates the waiting for a virtual input that would be a physical wait in a physical task.

These are just a few examples of robot macros that already exist in RoboDK. As you can see, there is a wide range of uses for such a simple programming concept.

The Intersection of Robot Macros and Custom Tools: A Paradigm Shift in Industrial Robotics

Both robot macros and custom tools are simple but immensely powerful concepts that can bring your robot deployments to another level.

By combining the two concepts, you can build robot applications that incorporate any functionality that you need.

If you are not sure how to program a particular macro functionality, a good place to start is in our RoboDK documentation which includes extensive instructions to guide you through the process. There is also a helpful section on adding custom tools.

If you are stuck and have any questions about developing scripts, a good place to add your question is in the RoboDK Forum where a community of robot programmers are waiting to help.

What functionality would you like to add with a macro or custom tool? Tell us in the comments below or join the discussion on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or in the RoboDK Forum.. Also, check out our extensive video collection and subscribe to the RoboDK YouTube Channel

The post How to Create Powerful Robot Macros and Custom Tools in RoboDK appeared first on RoboDK blog.

Simulation and offline programming are valuable tools for improving production processes with robots. They help you solve the problems that can occur when adding automation in a simple, powerful, and efficient way. RoboDK offers a range of benefits that can help you automate with ease.

Let’s explore 9 tried and tested ways you can improve your production process with RoboDK.

1. Automate the Bottleneck Task with RoboDK

A bottleneck task is the one task that uses the most time or resources in your process. It holds up the rest of production and stops you from scaling your operations to meet higher demand.

A powerful way to use robots is to automate your bottleneck task.

By automating, you can add both extra throughput and consistency to the bottleneck task. The right type of robot can improve your throughput immensely, helping you to remove that difficult bottleneck. You can test the impact of this by simulating the task in RoboDK.

2. Free Up Personnel by Automating Boring Tasks

What if you can’t automate the bottleneck task in your business?

Sometimes, a task requires a human touch and can’t be automated. If such a task is causing a bottleneck in your workflow, you might not be able to solve it with a robot.

But there is still a solution. There are probably several boring, repetitive tasks that take time from your workers. Here, you can automate those tasks to free up personnel for the bottleneck task.

3. Incorporate Robot Thinking into Product Development

Adding a robot can also affect production in less obvious ways. For example, your product development process can improve immensely by considering the constraints added by a robot.

Robots require their tasks to be regular and consistent. Often, this means you need to adapt your processes to make them easier to achieve with robotic automation. This robot thinking can help make your process more robust and efficient, even before you consider the productivity of the robot itself.

RoboDK is an ideal tool for testing designs and processes during this product development step. You can test your ideas in the simulator and optimize them before putting them into production.

4. Eliminate Waste and Optimize Cycle Time With RoboDK

Waste is a key factor when you want to improve your production processes. By eliminating waste, you increase productive time and improve efficiency.

With robots, the most common source of waste is unnecessarily long cycle times. When the robot moves more than is necessary or handles material too much, you are wasting valuable time and effort.

RoboDK offers several features for improving cycle times. These include cycle time analysis, intelligent motion planning algorithm, and CAD tool integration.

5. Analyze and Optimize Workflows in the Simulator

Analysis is a key step when you are working to improve your production processes. It allows you to see and understand what is happening in your process, helping you identify opportunities for improvement.

The challenge is that, in the physical world, it’s hard to accurately measure the performance of individual steps in your production process. Real-world data can be messy and many factors influence performance.

Robot simulation provides a valuable tool for analyzing your automated process in depth. You can simulate the effect of changing different variables, helping you to optimize your automated workflows.

6. Train Workers to Use Robots for Continuous Improvement

People are the most important factor in production. When you have knowledgeable, trained, and experienced workers, they can help to improve production continuously.

Most people still have little experience with robots, which can make it hard for them to know how to contribute to automated process improvement.

RoboDK offers a range of free and paid training resources for those looking to improve their robotics knowledge. They teach you how to use robots effectively and spot potential areas for improvement.

7. Test New Machine Purchases Using Simulation

We all know that buying new machinery can be expensive and time-consuming. You don’t want to invest in a robotic system only to find that it doesn’t work for your specific task or requirements.

With RoboDK’s simulator, you can quickly and easily test many different robots for your task before you make a purchase. This reduces the risk of investing in robots and will help to speed up the deployment process.

8. Create Standard Components for Copy-Paste Robot Cells

A significant benefit of offline programming — i.e. programming the robot in a simulator — is the ability to create standardized templates and program modules you can easily reuse between robot projects.

This also means that you can create “copy-paste” robot cells. Once you have successfully deployed one robot to a task, you can create an exact replica of this robot using the same programming template. In this way, you can easily scale your robotic capabilities.

9. Develop a Culture of Robotic Automation

While you could use RoboDK for just one robot deployment, the real power of using robots is when you develop a “culture of robotic automation.”

By making robots an integral part of your workflow, you can continue to save time and budget for years to come. With RoboDK’s offline programming and simulation features, you can easily test new ideas for robotic automation and quickly deploy those ideas once you have optimized the programs.

There are so many ways that RoboDK can help you improve your production process. So get started today!

How could robot offline programming and simulation improve your production process? Tell us in the comments below or join the discussion on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or in the RoboDK Forum. Also, check out our extensive video collection and subscribe to the RoboDK YouTube Channel

The post 9 Ways to Improve a Production Process with RoboDK appeared first on RoboDK blog.

The system included a 6-axis KUKA robot arm mounted on a rail (linear axis), a tilting table for rotary operation, and a spindle. Additionally, a GTV cladding head (powder+laser) enabled additive functions resulting in an overall cycle time of 5 minutes when reloading Steel 4140 parts. This project examined the numerical chain within FORCE Technology‘s setup through a genuine application instance.

Ever mindful of their environmental responsibilities, the project enabled FORCE Technology to determine how to repair a gear instead of replacing it. In turn, they avoided throwing away a whole part and wasting materials and labor costs. In addition, they kept downtime and costs low due to eliminating the need for replacement parts. The project was a successful example of how robot integration can improve MRO (Maintenance Repair and Operations) to alleviate sustainability concerns.

FORCE Technology employed ESPRIT, the Hexagon’s “Hybrid” CAM to program additive head path planning, and RoboDK to resolve kinematics and collisions while generating robot code to create the toolpath trajectories for Additive Manufacturing. In addition, the RoboDK extension in ESPRIT simplified communication between systems and made it easier for end-users. Overall, FORCE Technology completed the MRO application using digital twin and post-processing to improve weld quality and waste reduction. The Manufacturing Academy Denmark (MADE) provided the financial backing to make this project successful.

How Robotic Simulation with RoboDK Can Help Alleviate Sustainability Concerns

Companies can reduce their carbon footprint by repairing large components with defects or damage compared to manufacturing a complete new part.

Ivar Dale, Additive Manufacturing Specialist at FORCE Technology, mentions:

The project was a big step stone towards making gear repair more standard and achieving the required guarantee of quality and confidence to put repaired gears back into service from the gear manufacturers. We successfully achieved the identical hardness of the original teeth on the gear as printed.

RoboDK’s simulation and offline programming tools can also reduce production downtime caused by shop floor programming. Companies can test a robot’s abilities in a virtual environment with RoboDK.

Furthermore, Dale continues:

Using the path planner additive solution from ESPRIT/Hexagon, and the post-processor from RoboDK we saved a tremendous amount of time to program the path with a 1mm positive offset as the shape of the tooth was organic. This saves us time in printing, especially in larger repairs, but it also saves the gear manufacturer time as the material we add is very hard and every mm takes time to carefully CNC.

Improve Your Laser Welding Initiatives with RoboDK Industrial Simulator

RoboDK is an economically intelligent, highly effective industrial robotics and robot programming simulator. It eliminates the need for shop floor programming and optimizes robot paths to avoid singularities, axis limits, and collisions. Due to its innovative design, coding experience isn’t necessary.

By combining RoboDK with another system, such as the ESPRIT, Hexagon’s “Hybrid” CAM, companies can develop sustainable production processes. It reduces energy consumption and waste generated from their operations.

Using RoboDK’s simulation and offline programming tools helps companies reduce production costs and downtime. Moreover, it minimizes hazardous materials produced in production cycles. These advantages make RoboDK an invaluable tool for companies looking to reduce their environmental impact. In addition, if your business is committed to sustainability, then RoboDK can help you achieve your goals.

Combining RoboDK with other software solutions allows businesses to develop sustainable production processes. This will help ensure that the company is committed to tackling sustainability concerns and can be confident that its production processes align with the latest industry standards. To take advantage of the benefits of robotic simulation with RoboDK, visit our website. Check out the blogs and other resources, and explore the range of features available.

Have you ever combined technologies to improve your company’s carbon footprint? Tell us in the comments below or join the discussion on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or in the RoboDK Forum. Also, check out our extensive video collection and subscribe to the RoboDK YouTube Channel.

The post Gear Repair Collaboration with RoboDK appeared first on RoboDK blog.

Robot arms are capable of anything, limited only by their programming, and will perform mundane and complex tasks, like picking, packing, and inspecting, with greater accuracy and efficiency than any human employee. Additive manufacturing isn’t alone in this; many industries, including aviation and healthcare, are taking advantage of robotic integrations and simulation software for prototyping or to prove their ideas have merit.

You can find programmable robotics in additive manufacturing because they can reduce the environmental impact of production by limiting energy consumption and waste materials. Companies can install robots onto their production floors using RoboDK simulation software and offline programming tools to make them sustainable. These specific innovations make it possible for any business to monitor and adjust their robots from any location, allowing for greater flexibility in additive manufacturing.

By remaining open-minded to the possibilities of robot integrations, manufacturers will discover how they can improve their MRO applications and, by extension, alleviate any sustainability concerns from their industry stakeholders.

Benefits of Industrial Robotics in MRO Applications

Robots are increasingly valuable for MRO applications because they can consistently perform important and complex tasks. Robotic integration can improve a company’s overall productivity because its innovative features tackle inefficient processes throughout production. Integrating robots improve maintenance activities and leads to better safety standards for company employees.

That’s not all, as using robots in additive manufacturing will decrease the environmental impact of production issues as it reduces waste materials and excess energy consumption.

Integrating robots, using RoboDK’s digital twin and simulation, demonstrates the capacity for software automation to increase manufacturing efficiency. The improvements in manufacturing efficiency are possible because automation streamlines processes and removes the need for labor-intensive steps. Essentially, companies are utilizing RoboDK and similar software to employ digital twin technology in their post-processing steps.

In simulations, companies can monitor their product’s performance for a particular use case, grade the performance by simulating use, and catch any oddities as they happen. In other words, companies can design and program virtual prototypes to gauge their product readiness.

Overall industrial robotics help reduce costs in vital areas while improving accuracy and consistency across industry operations.

Challenges Faced When Integrating an Industrial Robot into MRO Applications

Pairing robotics with existing production processes isn’t anything new, but it can still be challenging due to the complexity of each task. Although, they can simplify the job’s complexity using simple programming techniques for each task. To accomplish this task, manufacturers need to hire experienced engineers who understand the fundamentals of robotics and have the capacity to program them accordingly.

As we mentioned, improving MRO applications with robotic integration and simulation software isn’t impossible, but it does require creative thinking from engineers. Improving MRO use cases will require meeting and addressing the challenges of successful integration.

Integration with Existing Systems

Designing a system that works seamlessly with existing equipment can be challenging. Industrial robots became more common in more industries as more innovation occurred. Because of the need for constant business improvement and success, robotic equipment is integrated with:

• Warehouse control systems
• Material handling systems
• And other automated processes

Manufacturing companies can’t afford production delays. With skillful programming, robots comingle and communicate important instructions to existing systems. Having compatible robotic integrations also reduces process errors and helps complete the job without delays.

Flexibility and Adaptability

If industrial robots are to serve the company in MRO applications, they need the capacity to adapt to changing conditions to be successful. Usually, robots can adjust their operations based on different inputs and scenarios, like changes in production levels or customer demand. To adapt, they should respond quickly to new tasks or instructions. Eventually, systems gain benefits like increasing productivity, reduced errors, and maintenance concerns.

Predictive Maintenance

Predictive maintenance is another expected challenge for industrial robot integration. This involves using sensors and other technologies to predict potential problems before they occur. With these predictions, companies can schedule preventive measures before any damage occurs or production levels are affected. So, implementing predictive maintenance strategies will reduce downtime and improve productivity.

Overcoming Integration Challenges with Robotic Simulation Software

Robotic simulation software can help businesses overcome the challenges of integrating industrial robots into MRO applications. By simulating a robot’s environment and tasks, companies can ensure that the robot is programmed to operate correctly and can work for the client. This type of software can also help reduce human errors through improved programming accuracy and faster testing of robot controllers.

In the case of MRO applications, robotic simulation software such as RoboDK can help to improve accuracy and optimize processes. Furthermore, proper robot modeling and simulation can lower the chances of errors when machining, repairing, tooling, and operating on delicate materials, such as those used in laser welding. In laser welding applications where different software must coexist, robotic simulation effectively checks that the operation will function as intended.

Do you have an MRO integration challenge? Tell us in the comments below or join the discussion on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or in the RoboDK Forum. Also, check out our extensive video collection and subscribe to the RoboDK YouTube Channel.

The post How Robot Integration Improves MRO Applications appeared first on RoboDK blog.