MARKA in Italy

01 the short story

Marka has chosen UR3 from Universal Robots to screw the caps on its own-brand consumer goods. It was a decision which has been rewarded with the accuracy and reliability of the machine for an investment which paid for itself within a year.

02 the challenge

MARKA is a detergent-producing chemical company which has been a market player for many years. After devoting the initial years to producing for third parties, the company decided to begin production under its own brand. Recently, the offer in the field of consumer goods were further increased. It was a choice that coincided with the installation of a collaborative robot from Universal Robots which mimics the range of motion of a human arm.

“MARKA has been producing consumer goods for retail for some time now,” says Giorgio Belotti, in charge of Production and R&D. “It’s a choice that has had a strong impact on the way we do business: it meant reviewing the production logistics, switching to producing smaller batches of goods which could be modified more quickly while maintaining the same performance levels and the same overall quality. This is the reason why the company has chosen to implement robot automation.”

MARKA had a primarily production-focused requirement: putting a cap onto a bottle which requires precision in application with the same level of tightening. “Due to the shape of the cap,” says Sergio Melite, a specialist technician at MARKA, “it was difficult to get a grip and precise positioning. The reason we chose a collaborative robot, UR3, from Universal Robots, is because it was able to do precisely that. We are very happy with our choice. The set-up and the management of the UR3 robot was easier and much simpler than that of competing robots.”

03 the solution

UR3 overcame the challenge for precise positioning and tightening, thanks to its already built-in torque sensor management software. The task assigned could be initiated immediately due to the ease of installation and the design of the robot. “The robot arrived in the morning,” Melite continues, “and 4 hours later it was already operating on the production line, thanks to an intuitive programming system which does not require previous expertise in programming robots. The UR3 has also simplified the production cycle: an unskilled operator is able to stop, reset and restart the production very quickly and without needing to always stay close to the machine. It’s easy to use, has a user-friendly interface and, moreover, by being collaborative, it can operate safely alongside our operators in a compact area.

“Thanks to the robot from Universal Robots,” concludes Belotti, Head of Production, “we were able to increase the overall quality of the finished product and to recover the purchase costs within a year.