69963 20230126102833.0 doi 10.1016/j.promfg.2017.09.015 sideral 104839 ART-2017-104839 eng Gil-Vilda, F. (orcid)0000-0001-8460-3076 Integration of a collaborative robot in a U-shaped production line: a real case study 2017 Access copy available to the general public Unrestricted In lean production environments, such as the U-shaped cells, flexibility is a priority. Therefore, any element that introduces process stiffness is negatively valued. Former studies establish that robotization of tasks in U-shaped cells presents some drawbacks. For instance: it may complicate continuous improvement, prolong changeover time, use a large space or create safety problems for the operators. However, the collaborative robots (CoBots) may change this situation, since they overcome most of the issues previously mentioned. The present study analyses a real case of de-robotization in a traditional assembly line to transform it into a manual U-shaped line. In a second step a CoBot is integrated in the cell replacing one of the workers. This study empirically compares the manufacturing process in these three scenarios. Results in real production conditions show that a U-shape cell assisted by a CoBot increases productivity and reliability while reducing the surface used. These results suggest that collaborative robotics can be integrated in U-shaped production lines and even increase the efficiency of a traditional robotized assembly line. info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess by-nc-nd http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/es/ 0.201 2017 Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering 2017 Q3 Artificial Intelligence 2017 Q3 info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion Sune, A. Yagüe-Fabra, J.A. Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0001-7152-4117 Crespo, C. Serrano, H. 5002 515 Universidad de Zaragoza Dpto. Ingeniería Diseño Fabri. Área Ing. Procesos Fabricación 13 (2017), 109-115 Procedia Manufacturing 2351-9789 293101 http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/69963/files/texto_completo.pdf Versión publicada 11010 http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/69963/files/texto_completo.jpg?subformat=icon icon Versión publicada oai:zaguan.unizar.es:69963 articulos driver 2023-01-26-09:51:31 ARTICLE