Robotics and Industrial Automation Foundations

# Robotics and Industrial Automation Foundations You've got a production bottleneck, labor constraints, or a quality problem that automation might solve — but how do you know if a robot is the right tool, which type to pick, and whether the ROI actually works out? This course teaches you the **decision framework** for manufacturing automation: how to scope a problem, select the right robot architecture (articulated, SCARA, collaborative), integrate it into a production cell, ensure it's safe, and justify it financially. You'll learn from real manufacturing scenarios—assembling connectors at speed, sorting packages at a logistics hub—so you can tackle your own challenges. **The spine:** given a production scenario, identify appropriate robot types and components, design a cell layout with safety built in, evaluate the business case with realistic costs, and manage the commissioning and handoff to operations. Along the way, you'll master the key standards (ISO 8373 robot terminology, ISO 10218 safety, OSHA lockout-tagout) so you can talk to integrators, vendors, and safety teams in their language. The course is grounded in verified facts: robot payload-reach tradeoffs (20-28% capacity loss at full extension), automation ROI data from manufacturers (10-20% throughput gains where they succeed), and compliance requirements that are actively enforced. You won't find generic "robots are the future" hype—just practical constraints, trade-offs, and how to think through them systematically. **Who this is for:** technicians, manufacturing engineers, and learners entering robotics who can read a datasheet and understand production constraints but haven't yet designed an automation cell. If you've seen robots on a factory floor but never selected one, specified a gripper, or thought through how to integrate it safely with your workforce, this course is your playbook. **What you'll be able to do:** given your company's production volume, part complexity, and floor space, you can now size a robot, design the cell layout, identify safety requirements, estimate cycle time, build an ROI model, and present a business case. You'll know the questions to ask vendors, the standards you must comply with, and the common pitfalls to avoid.