UR cobots increase assembly line speed by 25%
In short
Magneti Marelli is an international company specializing in designing and manufacturing high-tech systems and components for the automotive sector. The company was looking for a long-term solution to replace the monotonous tasks performed by production operators, that at the same time were not able to work faster without errors. They found the optimal and functional solution in Universal Robots cobots.
The aim was to reduce the error-rate on the assembly line, caused mostly by current employees. The solution needed to be capable of completing the automation of various, repetitive pick & place tasks throughout the entire production facility such as plugging in very small plastic parts into components.
Magneti Marelli
Lubomír Graca, Head of the technological department, Magneti Marelli Slovakia“All of our cobots from Universal Robots are safe for our employees. People enjoy working with them and they are glad that they have relieved them of monotonous and repetitive work. The staff loves the cobots so much that they even gave them names. The return on investment into the cobots, even with the mechanics of the whole station, was within one year
The solution
“We found an effective solution in the cobots from Universal Robots,” says Lubomír Graca, head of the technological department at Magneti Marelli Slovakia. “We were pleasantly surprised by the ease of installation and programming of the cobots, UR+ solutions offered, and the support of the system integrator. ”UR+ solutionsare plug & play products certified to work seamlessly with UR cobots.”
The company currently uses four UR cobots to fit the lead-in components into circuit boards, which could not be operated by traditional automatic machines due to the large dimensions of the package or the components themselves. The UR10, UR5, and UR5e cobots pick the individual components, such as the connectors or lead-in components, directly from the supplier's package. This is done with the RG2 Collaborative Gripperfrom OnRobot, certified as a UR+ product. The components are then mounted onto circuit boards on the conveyor belt, which is part of the production line.
Assembly line speed boosted by 25%
Cobots minimized the risks of poor handling of components and circuit boards. At the same time, the assembly line has been accelerated by 25% thanks to moving components from expensive pick & place machines. The first two UR cobots have been in operation for almost 1.5 years on 24/7 production lines. Two other UR applications are currently in preparation, Magnetti Marelli Slovakia is also finishing studies of their future possible use in other types of applications.
Safety first
“Because of the installation of collaborative robots on the assembly line, it's safe for humans to work around it,” says Graca “Our employees are working with the cobots regularly, and they are glad that it has relieved them of monotonous repetitive work,” he says adding that the staff loves the cobots so much, they even gave them names. The return on investment in cobots, even with the mechanics of the whole station, was within one year. One cobot was able to replace operators on four shifts. At the same time, Magneti Marelli Slovakia was able to increase the speed of the assembly line and eliminate quality issues.
“After our experience and successful implementation of cobots, we plan to extend their use on all of our assembly lines and we are constantly looking for other applications that we could use in production,” explains Graca.
High-tech company
Magneti Marelli is an international company specializing in the design and manufacturing of high-tech systems and components for the automotive sector. Combining quality, technology and versatility, the company supplies leading automakers in Europe, North and South America and Asia. There are two divisions in Slovakia - Electronic Systems and Powertrain - both located in Kechnec Industrial Park. More than 1,300 people are employed in both divisions. The Electronic Systems division manufactures dashboards, navigation systems and on-board computers that are part of automotive electronics. The main products of the Powertrain division are throttles, suction manifolds and GDI (high pressure) pumps. PSA, BMW, Fiat and Renault are the most important customers for Magneti Marelli in terms of volume.
Automation challenges solved:
Eliminated error-rate on the assembly line Relieved current employees of monotonous and repetitive tasks Automated the process of fitting lead-in parts into circuit boards Provided safe and easy application access for employees
Key value drivers:
KEY VALUE DRIVERS: Fast set-up of the solution Minimalization of routine tasks Increase of production speed by 25% Return of investment in less than a year Flexibility of the solution
Tasks solved by collaborative robots:
Assembly Pick and place
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