Growing output by 50% with out including flooring area sounds unrealistic for many producers.
That was the precise goal contained in the manufacturing facility of Beyerdynamic, a German producer {of professional} audio tools and headphones. Management set a four-year plan: increase manufacturing facility productiveness by 50% whereas sustaining the identical footprint and defending strict high quality requirements.
No new constructing.
No compromise on acoustic precision.
No workforce discount.
Right here’s how collaborative robotic automation made it doable.
The manufacturing problem: Enhance productiveness in the identical area
The bottleneck was a glue spraying utility used to refine headphone loudspeakers acoustically.
Beforehand, expert operators manually utilized a medium instantly onto the speaker membrane utilizing a brush. Whereas exact, the method launched:
- Variability in utility thickness
- Inconsistent high quality outcomes
- Restricted cycle time enhancements
- Ergonomic and security issues
Guide processes usually turn out to be the limiting issue when producers purpose to scale manufacturing in constrained environments.
The staff recognized two automation alternatives:
- Dealing with the welded loudspeaker
- Spraying the acoustic medium
Collaborative robots shortly turned the popular answer as a consequence of their flexibility, compact footprint, and ease of integration.
The automation answer: collaborative robots with built-in imaginative and prescient
The corporate chosen two UR5 collaborative robots from Common Robots to construct a synchronized robotic cell.
To unravel half dealing with challenges, they built-in:
Why imaginative and prescient methods matter in manufacturing automation
One common problem in manufacturing is an element place variance. Parts hardly ever arrive in precisely the identical orientation.
On this case:
- Welded loudspeakers had been positioned inside the digicam’s area of view.
- The imaginative and prescient system acknowledged the speaker geometry.
- The gripper picked and positioned it exactly.
Engineers didn’t must manually calculate coordinates. As a substitute, they bodily guided the robotic to show positions. The plug-and-play integration diminished programming time and simplified deployment.
This mixture of collaborative robots, robotic grippers, and built-in imaginative and prescient enabled dependable selecting of non-uniformly positioned elements — a typical barrier to automation adoption.
Coordinated robotic cell for dealing with and spraying
As soon as the primary robotic positioned the loudspeaker onto a fixture, the second UR5 started the spraying course of.
The automated sequence included:
- Even utility of the acoustic medium
- Alternating spraying between two fixtures
- Computerized placement of accomplished audio system into trays
- Steady coordination between each robots
The outcome was a totally synchronized robotic cell performing dealing with, spraying, and staging operations.
Preliminary integration required refinement, significantly round spray precision and multi-robot timing. Nevertheless, steady optimization considerably improved cycle occasions.
Measurable outcomes: 50% manufacturing enhance and 50% high quality enchancment
Manufacturing formally started in July.
With the identical three staff assigned to the station, the corporate achieved:
- 50% enhance in manufacturing quantity
- 50% enchancment in high quality index
- Extra secure and repeatable course of efficiency
- Lowered variability in acoustic medium utility
Constant robotic spraying eradicated fluctuations inherent in guide brushing. Output supply occasions improved whereas sustaining strict high quality requirements.
Importantly, the manufacturing facility footprint remained unchanged.
For producers trying to find methods to extend manufacturing with out increasing amenities, this case demonstrates how collaborative robotic automation can unlock hidden capability.
Human-robot collaboration in manufacturing
Profitable automation will not be solely technical; it’s cultural.
Management prioritized communication early within the venture. Staff had been invited to take part within the pilot program to cut back concern and encourage collaboration.
Operators had been skilled to:
- Begin and monitor the robots
- Troubleshoot points
- Restart methods independently
As a substitute of performing repetitive glue utility, expert employees shifted towards higher-value duties the place human experience provides higher impression.
This strategy displays a broader manufacturing pattern: automation reallocates human expertise quite than changing it.
Key takeaways
This case highlights a number of crucial classes for producers evaluating manufacturing facility automation:
- Collaborative robots allow manufacturing will increase with out increasing flooring area
- Built-in imaginative and prescient methods clear up half place variability
- Plug-and-play grippers simplify deployment
- Human-robot collaboration improves workforce utilization
- Measurable ROI might be achieved via course of stability
For producers going through area constraints, high quality calls for, and stress to extend throughput, collaborative robotic cells present a sensible, scalable path ahead.
The transformation inside Beyerdynamic reveals that important productiveness positive factors are doable — even inside the identical partitions.
