Universal robots implemented two of its industrial robotic arms, the UR5 and UR10, to provide greater flexibility for Switzerland’s FME Feinmechanik. With a new automated solution in place, the company made shift work a thing of the past and evolved its production processes.

The business transformation

As a manufacturer of small, finely designed mechanical components, which are precision engineered for the medical technology sector, FME Feinmechanik AG required an automated solution that was able to offer complete flexibility, without any compromise on quality.

The company’s component range includes parts with extremely thin walls that were, in some cases, equivalent to half the width of a human hair, with production quantities that can be anything from 50 to 10,000 units. This meant that, in the past, the use of industrial robots had been ruled out, as they were deemed too cumbersome and immobile, as well as being seen as a threat to jobs.

However, FME Feinmechanik recognised the need to reassess its position, given that it had seen rises in costs, an emerging dissatisfaction among workers around the monotony of daily tasks and a growing demand for its products that only increased manufacturing volume could satisfy.