The solution
The decision to automate as many repetitive tasks as possible in the production line is part of Schneider Electric Group’s global strategy. The use of the collaborative robot in the Uccle production facility is part of the Smart Factory project. This involves trying out configurations with robots or cobots in various factories and sharing the experience with the rest of the group. The aim is not only to increase productivity and meet customer needs, but also to improve employees’ working conditions.
When the decision was made to invest in an automation solution, Schneider Electric experts visited a number of trade fairs, where they learned about Universal Robots' cobots. It soon became clear that this was the ideal solution to achieve the goal they had in mind. With the help of the local distributor, Industrial Cobotics, and the specialized integrator ICA Industrial Automation, they managed to implement the cobot into their production process in a few months. As is quite usual with larger companies, and especially with a hightech manufacturer like Schneider Electric, a lot of the work was done in-house. Nevertheless, the free courses that are provided through the UR Academy platform came in handy in the programming phase.
"The main advantage of Universal Robots’ cobot is its flexibility, which allows itto be adapted it to different projects," says Simon Broze from ICA Industrial Automation. "Even with relatively complex movements,the mechanical integration poses few problems. Add to that the high precision and repetitionof the movement, and you have a very satisfactorysolution for the challenge that had to be met."
