A big contract is won by a manufacturer. The production requirement for each month increases however, the plant has no room, employees with experience, or additional hours in the day. A second shift may help temporarily, but it may create new labor as well as training, supervision and quality-control demands.
Image credit: automatedsolutions.com.au
Situations like this reveal an important purpose of robotic automation. Robotics goes beyond replacing people with machines. A suitable application can alter how manufacturers use their capacity to produce.
Examine the Seconds That Change Between Products
Inefficiency in manufacturing doesn’t have to be dramatic. Imagine an operator spending 15 seconds searching for a piece of equipment and then 10 seconds putting it into the material and then moving it. For a single component, the difference is insignificant. When repeated thousands of times however, those seconds become significant production time.
This is also true of wasted material. The addition of a tiny amount of additional coating or dispensing materials over a long production run can result in a significant expense.
The companies that are considering robotic automation Australia will benefit by analyzing these tiny loss, repeated ones before they decide what equipment to purchase. The analysis of needs by ASA aims to pinpoint bottlenecks, as well problems with quality, waste and other processes that might affect an automation plan.
Robots need to be able integrate into the process.
Selecting a robot is only one engineering decision. It is possible to incorporate tooling, security and controls sensors, conveyers, fixtures, electrical integration and communication with the current production equipment. Engineers must consider the robot’s reach and payload, as well as how it interact with its surroundings and how it will move.
ASA provides conceptual development, design of systems and offline programming as part of its approach to robotic automation. Engineers can investigate system configurations and estimate cycle times before the final system is put in the factory floor. This is particularly beneficial when space is constrained or when new robotics need to be integrated with a production line that is already in place.
Painting and Dispensing demonstrates why Repetability is Important
Certain manufacturing processes show the importance of controlled movement. Imagine coating hundreds or thousands of parts. It’s not just about completing the components quickly is the desired outcome. The motion, distance, speed, and the application must to be monitored from the beginning of the production process until the end.
ASA has specialists who work with dispensing applications and paint across various industries, such as aeronautics and automobile. In these environments industrial robotic automation can provide the ability to repeat, programmed, and controlled movements. It also reduces employee exposure to potentially dangerous processes.
Better control may also reduce unnecessary material consumption, contributing to a reduction in waste and productivity improvement.
The System Needs Personnel After Installation
Automatism isn’t a substitute for manufacturing knowledge. Automation alters the knowledge required to maintain and operate the manufacturing process.
Employees must be instructed to operate equipment in a safe manner and to recognize abnormal behavior and troubleshoot malfunctioning components and perform necessary maintenance. The demands for production can shift as time passes, which means that procedures and protocols will need to be adapted.
ASA offers training on-site covering safety, programming troubleshooting, mechanical and electrical maintenance. The company also provides maintenance and support to check the condition of equipment, and dealing with wear throughout the system’s lifetime.
Capacity is more than just working faster
In Australia, increasing production capacity is not always about adding more employees to repetitive jobs or buying bigger structures. The more important question to consider is whether your current manufacturing process could be improved.
ASA has been creating and integrating automation solutions since 2002. It provides support to manufacturers in Australia, as well as international projects. Its methodology combines the analysis of requirements, engineering, simulations, FANUC robotic integration, training, as well as servicing.
Automating for automation’s sake isn’t the objective. Any system that is worth investing in should offer a manufacturer measurable outcomes, such as increased reliability of production, improved quality, safer procedures, reduced waste or increased capacity.