Flexible cobots boost quality and reduce manufacturing costs

Temar SP

Temar Sp. z o.o.

Four UR10e Cobots Reduce Manufacturing Costs and Boost Quality at Temar.

Temar is a Poland-based manufacturer of lighting fixtures. The company’s family-run fabrication plant has deployed four UR10e cobots – in its welding processes for pick and place tasks at the paint shop to tend a press and laser cutting machine. The factors decisive to the selection of the Universal Robots cobots were the ease of programming and operation, the functionality meeting the company’s needs, the long reach of the arm, and safe operation. Temar estimates the return on investment at a maximum of 2 years. The key benefits of robotization are fabrication cost reduction and a boost to the quality of final products.

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In short

The business transformation

Temar’s goal was to improve their competitiveness through the robotization of the work stations. The automation solution had to meet the criteria of safety, precision and functionality as well as intuitive operation. Also, the reach of the robotic arm was important as it had to allow operations within a one meter radius with a built-in precise force sensor too.

Another crucial factor was the ergonomics of man-machine collaboration as Temar wanted a solution they could deploy without the need to install safety fencing. Temar was considering the use of traditional industrial robots but after talks with their vendors it turned out that this type of implementation would be too complex and costly.

Temar

Industry Furniture and Equipment

Country Europe

Number of Employees 5-25

Cobot used UR10e

Video — Temar SP. z o.o, Poland

The cobots from Universal Robots have met our requirements. We needed the full control over the implementation process and over automated work stations. The flexible approach of UR that enabled us to self-integrate was an advantage.

Arkadiusz Okoń, President, Temar

UR cobots transform Temar's plant

Temar’s fabrication plant automation was based on the UR cobots the Polish partner ProCobot supplied. The first UR10e arrived in December 2019 and was implemented at the welding station. In 2020, three more UR10e cobots were implemented at the Temar plant – at the paint shop, to operate with the press and laser device. “Our employees quickly got used to collaborating with the cobots – the operators' job is to turn the program on and off and supervise the machine. The team of engineers is happy with the new technology – we have implemented ourselves and are expanding more cobot operations onto more work stations,” says Łukasz Okoń, Technical Director, Temar.

“The cobots from Universal Robots have met our requirements. We needed the full control over the implementation process and over automated work stations. The flexible approach of UR that enabled us to self-integrate was an advantage,” says Arkadiusz Okoń, President, Temar. The job of the UR10e operating is tending the press, loading and unloading steel discs. The robot is equipped with a gripper with suction cups connected to a vacuum pump – in this way the cobot moves the steel discs to the press and then palletizes them. The UR10e used in the paint shop was equipped with an electromagnet. Its job is to move the produced elements to the conveyor. The welding robot is using a standard pistol attachment to affix special plugs to the metal frames of the lamps. Welding patterns are programmed through the UR teach pendant. Cell including cobot and laser is still under preparation.

First UR10e implemented at Temar to the welding process

Technical Director of Temar programs UR10e cobots

Reduced cost and improved production quality

Temar appreciates the user-friendly cobot programming process. Also, the out-of-the-box functions and intuitive scripts came in handy. Before going forward with the implementation, the engineers from Temar underwent a basic and advanced training program in the UR Authorized Training Center managed by ProCobot. They have also benefited from the free of charge training modules offered online through the Universal Robots Academy.

“At the very beginning, we found it challenging developing a solution tailored to our requirements for the welding process, however with a little help from the UR experts we have managed to create a good program,” recalls Łukasz Okoń. Temar’s bet on its technology development has made the company a more competitive manufacturer and a more attractive employer – the most tedious and cumbersome tasks are now performed by the collaborative robots.

“Our observations indicate that a cobot is performing tasks at a similar pace to humans, however, with a higher and repeatable quality. In the present highly competitive markets, product quality is crucial and thanks to the UR cobots we were also able to significantly reduce our costs,” concludes Arkadiusz Okoń, President, Temar.