Can cobots be used in selective soldering?

Basically, this question can be answered with YES, no matter which cobot it is. Then comes the big BUT and this is due to the actual character and the possible place of use or the task of the cobot.

Cobots work hand in hand with humans. Conventional robotic systems are generally more powerful, but the risk of injury to humans would be considerable if they worked together with such a system unprotected. The cobot’s “intelligence” reduces this risk to zero in human-machine interaction. This means that the cobot’s movements and sequences pose no danger to operators and employees during selective soldering.

The BUT mentioned above is due to the soldering process. Since any soldering process involves hot tools or lasers and liquid solder that can cause significant human injury, the cobot can only be used for the actual soldering process in a protected room. These enclosures protect the employee from unprotected access to hot work areas.

Cobots can therefore only be used in the upstream process steps, e.g. when loading and unloading a workpiece carrier in a process cell. Here, the cobot can interact with the employee without danger. The actual soldering process is then carried out in the protected process cell.