Have questions?
See some frequently asked questions here.
- We guarantee that every stage of the development of your project is drafted, staged, planned, and executed in house.
- We will not outsource your project to 3rd parties for machine design, schematic design, hardware, software, assembly, testing, or integration. We continue to vertically integrate manufacturing services like CNC machining, sheet metal fabrication and much more.
- Our vertically integrated staff collaborate on every stage of the development of your project. This supports a uniformity of design, purpose, and quality.
- Your intellectual property stays between your company and DEVELOP LLC. No managing multiple contracts, customs, and companies for your machine.
- Staff members (project manager, software designer, engineer, etc.) remain the same point of contact from the signing of the scope of work to integration onto your floor. No institutional memory gaps. No inconsistent contacts or rotating leads.
- Our vertically integrated staff provides maximum accountability, companywide commitment, and action speed. Compare to coordinating multiple subcontractors and contracts that only extend to their portion of the project.
- You need to grow your business and cannot grow your production fast enough with manual labor.
- You have a task that has high turnover.
- You need machine speed, accuracy, consistency, and quality for your products.
- There is a hazardous, ergonomically risky task on the work floor, and you are concerned about work injuries.
- Your manufacturing needs to comply with a new government requirement, certification qualification, or inspection precondition.
- You need to pursue new customers and new opportunities.
- You need a better work environment.
- You are grappling with a labor shortage with no end in sight.
- There is a consistent bottleneck in your manufacturing process and hiring more workers is not practical or cost effective.
- You cannot pursue more revenue with the production capacity you have now.
- Your cost to train labor is too high because of turnover.
- Start by providing relevant current figures about your manual manufacturing: shifts, amount of workers on the task, salary per worker.
- Multiply these figures together (i.e., 2 shifts, 2 employees on a shift, $50,000 salary per year multiplied together= $200,000 cost of manual labor per year).
- Get the estimated amount of employees you would need with your automated solution per shift, and multiply by the number of shifts and yearly salary of the worker (i.e., 2 shifts, 0.5 workers per shift, $50,000 salary per year multiplied together= $50,000 cost of your automated machine operation per year).
- Subtract the machine operation cost from the manual cost to get the Annual labor displacement savings (i.e., $200,000-$50,000= $150,000 labor savings per year).
- Calculate additional significant cost savings opportunities from using the machine such as savings for reduced rework, increased safety, retention, process improvement etc., to get your annual savings for the machine (i.e., $150,000 labor displacement plus $100,000 in opportunity savings= $250,000 in yearly cash flow increase in your machine over manual production).
- Divide the estimate for the machine integration cost by the annual cash flow figure for the machine to see how many years before your investment is fully returned ($500,000 capital investment for a full custom automation integration divided by $250,000 cash flow profit from the machine= 2 years to ROI).
We are at 319 Yard Drive, Verona WI 53593. However, we assess automation projects and integrate robotic solutions across the United States and ship custom OEM parts internationally.
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- We begin with a free 30-minute evaluation call. We discuss potential opportunities, gather details about your production, and answer questions. We will schedule a follow-up for NDA requests and a rough estimate of return-on-investment figures to determine if the project is practical for your business.
- We follow that up with an onsite assessment. Our project lead takes a tour of your manufacturing facility, evaluates your current process, gathers information on site, and charts a wide range of automation opportunities that can refine the qualities of your automated machine integration. We also accept virtual walkthroughs for targeted projects.
- We identify the engineering risks, the costs of the system, and the estimated ROI associated with each opportunity.
- We then provide budgetary figures for return on investment to verify that the capital expenditure aligns with your goals.
- If they align, DEVELOP goes to work creating a formal proposal that outlines your machine or robotic system. In the proposal you will get:
- A 3D Computer Assisted Design
- Complete definition of machine with projected cycle times
- Descriptions of subsystems and functions
- Our stage gate and milestone-based approach to designing and building your machine
- When you are dealing with custom machines, every project is different. Size, number of SKUs, supply lead times, and the intricacies of the singulation and orientation involved in making your products all impact the timely completion of a project.
- Expect the average project to take one to two years, with some integrations taking up to four years.
Each custom machine integration is different. A pick and place system or a packaging and palletizing conveyor is likely going to cost less than a custom product assembly machine or linear transfer machine.
On average a custom machine costs about six figures with larger and more complex machines reaching seven figures.
A custom automated machine is a capital investment. We always make sure there are reasonable return on investment figures for each project practical to your business needs.
We take the time to highlight the many opportunities your expanded production capacity allows to pursue new customers and other business improvements the second your machine is integrated into your facility.
- We start with a contract. This contains an outline of stages of development, machine expectations, qualities of success and failure, and timetables for release of funds. We review those qualities with your leadership, finalize those plans, and sign the contract.
- We assign team members and backups to maintain consistent institutional memory and points of contact through every stage of the process. We maintain regular meetings monthly with your designated project manager or backup and supplement that contact with emails, process updates, and additional meeting requests.
- We have another onsite meeting to verify questions relating to up and downstream machines and how your team will work with the machine.
- Our team refines the design, creates the schematic, outlines the bill of materials, manages the supply chain, builds the hardware, completes the physical prototype, and tests the machine against agreed upon factory acceptance testing standards. These stages come with updates, presentations on progress, and approvals to move to the next stage.
- We finalize the design, have a final approval presentation meeting, and complete the custom machine. We provide educational manuals and training materials for your operators.
- We spend a few days on site physically integrating the machine onto your floor and training your operators. We provide additional options for maintenance and service contracts.
Partner With the Experts at DEVELOP LLC
Our industrial designers and mechanical engineers work together to deliver efficient, functional, cost-effective, and compliant end products that work as intended.
To get started, contact us today.