30 Micron Repeatability Enables Precision Machining

As our customers have found, the combination of increased productivity and worker value along with cobot flexibility and rapid ROI makes a compelling case for the adoption of cobots across a wide variety of machine tending tasks. For example, the 30-micron repeatability and built-in force/torque sensing in Universal Robots’ e-Series cobots proved an important factor in Toolcraft Inc.'s decision to deploy a UR5e on a challenging, three-operation precision CNC machine tending task.

The results were remarkable: “We went from producing 255 parts a week to 370 parts per week. Along with that, we’re able to finish our year’s production seven weeks sooner, thus freeing up that machine to produce parts on other jobs,” said Toolcraft’s director of operations, Steve Wittenberg.

There is no company too small (and no machine tending task too specialized) to benefit from cobot technology. For example, at Nichrominox, a family-owned manufacturer in Lyon, France, UR5 cobots tend to fold and CNC machines involved in the manufacture of dental equipment. The implementation resulted in an “instant” 10% gain in productivity, said Éric Lefrancq-Lumiere, Nichrominox's General Manager.

Meanwhile, U.S.-based Dynamic Group turned to UR10 cobots to tackle problems with product consistency around its injection molding machine. The company's high mix/low volume production processes proved an excellent fit for the UR10 and ROI was achieved in less than two months.

With the unique communications requirements of injection molding machines (IMMs) in mind, Universal Robots recently released the Injection Molding Machine Interface (IMMI) to ensure fast and easy communication between our e-Series cobots and IMMs. IMMI supports machines with EUROMAP 67 and SPI AN-146 communication interfaces.

ADAPTATION, BUSINESS CONTINUITY & COBOTS: MACHINE TENDING