{"id":5273,"date":"2022-05-09T17:34:40","date_gmt":"2022-05-09T21:34:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/robodk.com\/blog\/?p=5273"},"modified":"2022-05-09T17:34:46","modified_gmt":"2022-05-09T21:34:46","slug":"robot-cycle-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/robodk.com\/blog\/robot-cycle-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Robot Cycle Time: How to Calculate and Optimize Your Time"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you want to maximize your investment in robotics, you need to optimize the robot cycle time.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Time (as they say) is money. Robots perform many cycles per day. When a robot moves unnecessarily slowly or inefficiently, this can mean you’re losing money.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Even shaving 2 seconds off the robot cycle time can save hundreds of work hours over the course of a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do you calculate it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And how can you ensure you aren’t losing money without knowing it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is a clear guide for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is Robot Cycle Time?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Robot cycle time is the time it takes a robot to complete one complete cycle of its programmed task. It includes both the value-added time \u2014 when the robot is moving or performing the operation \u2014 and any non-value-added wait time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Research has shown<\/a> that lower cycle times result in reduced costs per workpiece. The longer your cycle time, the more it costs to create your products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because robots are very consistent, the cycle time has a powerful impact on the overall productivity of the robot. Any inefficiencies or wasted time will happen every single cycle. Thus, the inefficiency is multiplied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Time Is Money! The Need to Optimize Cycle Time<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Why is it important to reduce the cycle time of a robot? Because time is money!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Imagine you have a robot performing 1000 cycles per day for 5 days each week. Shaving just 2 seconds off the cycle time would save you 33 minutes per day. This is a saving of 144 hours per year!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As systems integrator Adil Shafi<\/a> says, cycle time is “one of the most important financial justifications in the business case for robotics. Every fraction of a second that something can be made faster translates directly into dollars.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You should always be on the lookout for ways you can reduce the cycle time of your robot, even if it’s only slightly. Over time, this can amount to huge savings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Factors Affect the Robot Cycle Time?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Various factors affect the cycle time of your robot. Some of these are under your control to change. Others are not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Factors that affect it include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n