Page 38 - MetalForming May 2017

Robots on Wheels
and transmits that data to a data-storage system. “It’s a quick way for us to perform lifecycle testing. We didn’t have to set up a lot of equipment; the initial program took us only about 5 minutes to create.
“This application enables us to actually engage our cus- tomers in the testing as well,” he continues. “They’re excited to see us use new technology to push our designs more quickly into production. It gives us an advantage over our competitors thousands of miles away in low-cost countries. We’re now winning orders against Chinese competitors and bringing back work that used to be sourced in China.”
Associates, Industry Buying In
Of course, bringing robots into a production environment can cause anxiety, but employees at SFEG are buying in after initial hesitation. The wire-cutting application provides a perfect example. The wire-cutting UR5 working in tandem with the UR10 has been embraced by the staff, which named the robotic team Thelma and Louise. According to Sebrina Thompson, line lead at SFEG, the names were chosen initially because personnel thought the robots would take their jobs– essentially driving them off a cliff just as Thelma and Louise did in the movie.
“When the robots first came out on the floor,” Thompson says, “employees were very anxious as they thought they would be replaced. But the robots handle a lot of tedious
tasks for us, enabling us to focus on more challenging jobs. My colleagues are constantly trying to find out where we can put the next robots.”
As for operating the robots, Thompson says it’s easy.
“I was surprised at how simple it was,” she offers. “If you can work a smart phone, you can pretty much work these robots.”
In addition to current efforts in metalforming operations, SFEG also is looking closely at its assembly operations for more robot applications.
“We’re looking at everything that we’re designing now to make sure that we can assemble it with a robot,” Bush says. “If we can’t put that together with a robot, we’ve got to go back to the drawing board and try again.”
And, according to Karl Bentz, sales engineer at Cross Automation, the Southeast-U.S. distributor through which SFEG purchases the URs, interest in collaborative robots is increasing.
“We’re seeing a lot of interest from Tier One and Two automotive suppliers with applications that replace some of the ergonomically unfavorable tasks performed by employ- ees,” he says. “The medical-device industry down here also is starting to use these new type of robots for tasks such as laser marking and assembly. As was the case at SFEG, once we sell one UR robot, the customer starts realizing what other tasks they could automate.” MF
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