Project Coordinator Emma Morris was impressed with how fast and easy the MiR robot was to set up. Metro Plastics created a counter-height top module that eliminates the back pain Roudebush used to experience while bending over boxes on the production floor.įast and easy set-up, including integration with in-house software If a problem is found, it can be identified and addressed while the parts are being produced, which helps reduce waste. By delivering products continuously, quality inspectors are able to inspect every box, not just a sampling. But now, “the MiR robot brings them back to us every 30 minutes, so once a box is done, we’re getting a visual of it right then and there, so if there is a problem, we can fix it right then and there.” Hahn notes that product quality improvement is an unexpected benefit of the mobile robot. Quality Inspector Falicia Roudebush explains that in the past, it could be several hours before she could inspect all the boxes on the production floor. The robot runs around the clock, Monday through Friday, for four six-hour shifts a day. The robot then continues to the quality department in the warehouse where it automatically docks at its charging station until its next round through the production floor. Metro Plastics initially set up the MiR200 robot to loop the production floor, stopping at each press for 30 seconds to allow operators to load finished products as soon as they fill a box. It was a no-brainer for us to get it.”Ĭontinuous material transport improves product quality and worker ergonomics It was autonomous and it was basically about half the cost of the other solutions. It didn’t need magnet pills or anything else to guide it. Hahn explains, “It didn’t need any wires in the concrete. But he says, “We just couldn’t land on a solution that fit for us due to the cost and the different things that we would have to do to the building to make it work.” That’s when MiR distributor Neff Engineering introduced the MiR robot. When Ken Hahn built a brand-new building for the company, he continued to research AGVs, thinking this was his opportunity to build the capability in from scratch. He was never able to act on that goal, however, because of the cost and impact of installing the permanent infrastructure required for AGVs. President Ken Hahn explains that his father, the company’s founder, had investigated automated guided vehicles (AGVs) since the 1990s, when the company was located in a previous building. And for press operators and quality inspectors, the ergonomics of examining and moving boxes at floor level added to job stress.Īutonomous mobile robot easier and much more cost-effective than AGVs During busy periods, boxes and pallets were tripping hazards for workers, and the constant fork truck traffic added to the safety risks. With as many as 20 jobs running at a time, boxes of finished products used to stack up at each press until a quality inspector could make her way around the floor to inspect parts and have them delivered to the warehouse. Typical jobs only run for about 2.4 days, however, so the company has to look at automating other processes. In its constant search for new, more efficient ways to do business, Metro Plastics needs to automate wherever it can. The company faces competition overseas and in North America, and is dealing with rising costs in healthcare and raw materials as well as challenges in finding and keeping skilled labor. Metro Plastics is an Indianapolis-based family-owned business that has produced custom plastic injection molded parts and inject mold tooling since 1974. By automating the transport of finished goods to quality assurance while jobs are in process, the company is also able to immediately identify and address quality issues, which helps reduce waste and drive competitiveness. Reprinted with permission from the MiR blog:Īt Indianapolis-based Metro Plastics, a MiR200 robot from Mobile Industrial Robots has nearly eliminated fork truck traffic on the production floor, improving worker safety and ergonomics.
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