Abstract
It is commonly assumed that the use of robots in an industrial plant will cut energy usage, because robots require no heat, light, or air conditioning in their work space. However, in analyzing industrial installations, we have found that, in practice, energy usage may either increase or decrease depending on the parameters of the particular facility. This paper describes our findings at the plants of various manufacturers. We performed on-site studies at plants operated by Chrysler Corporation in St. Louis (62 welding robots) and Franklin Manufacturing Company in St. Cloud, Minnesota (4 spray painting robots used in freezer manufacture), We also examined data on energy effects of robots from John Deere, caterpillar, and GM Guide Division. The effect of robots on electricity usage and other forms of energy usage are analyzed in this paper.
Hershey, R. L.; Fenton, S. E.; Letzt, A. M. (1983). Robotics and Energy Usage. Energy Systems Laboratory (http://esl.tamu.edu); Texas A&M University (http://www.tamu.edu). Available electronically from
https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /94557.