Summary:
Applied Controls supported the deployment of a Universal Robot at an injection molding facility to automate production through a 3-shift operation. By automating this operation for two shifts per day and saw an ROI about 5 months faster than anticipated.
Solution:
For every 3-shift operation finding people to operate second and third shift is always difficult. With the implementation of a Universal Robot on an injection molding machine the customer was able to automate multiple long- running jobs and free up operators to handle more difficult operations around the shop.
The customer started with a single UR10 and rapidly added 3 more UR10e’s mounted on top of their existing machinery to help handle most the high production parts. The plug-and-play capabilities of the Robotiq grippers allowed the customer to quickly integrate the robots. The Siemens PLC that was preprogrammed by Applied Controls acted as an expansion I/O module to give more points of communication between robot and machine.
The customer was able to integrate the robots almost entirely on their own and leaned on Applied Controls for programming tips to increase efficiency or to help get past a problem.
They have been very pleased with Universal Robots and Applied Controls and are planning to continue to add systems to further improve on efficiency and overall production.
Customer Benefits:
- Increased production on the machine
- Greater efficiency in the rest of the shop
- Ability to run 3 shifts a day with no operator intervention
Technologies Included:
- Universal Robot UR10e
- Robotiq Adaptive Grippers
- Siemens PLC
