If you want to bring speed, cost effectiveness, and intuitive setups to your manufacturing activities and automation cells, our Automation Fixture System solves the most common problems associated with high mix low volume automated cell applications.
Evolve With an Automation Fixture System
Tell me if this scenario seems familiar:
-You have a high mix/low volume activity on your shop floor.
-You have one available programmable robot arm so you need to be able to move it.
-You build a worktable out of wood or metal for your dedicated automation cell.
-You do the time consuming work bolting a robot arm to the table, affixing a custom gripper, positioning your workholding project, teaching a single program to your robot arm through manual manipulation of the arm or operating system input, then run the program.
But then!
-You get an order to do another production run of an activity you’ve done before, but it requires a different gripper, different program, and different product than the set up you have right now.
If you’re like a lot of shops out there, you have two choices for your automation cell dedication and workholding activities:
- Upfront Expense- Purchase another robot arm and spend the money on a second dedicated workholding table automation cell.
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- You hope that over time the customer remains dedicated to low volume orders enough that you justify the cost.
- You become vulnerable to changes in the market, order cancellation, and an unequal partnership.
- Your automation cell sits unused most shifts, wasting valuable space on your workfloor.
- Longterm Expense- You order your warehouse team to reposition the robot arm, change the gripper, place the new activity, reprogram the robot arm, and plan to do the entire process again to reorientate the arm for the first activity next week.
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- Your labor force spends expensive hours on repositioning and automation cell rededication.
- You increase the risk of adding variability into the output every time you try to recreate the exact program training settings.
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- Even if you have a metal table with threaded holes, the repetitive movement of the robot can change the position of the program. Even a partial millimeter shift in the position can be the difference between a quality part, an accurate pick, or functional program and expensive rework, bottleneck, or wasted time.
Neither choice is ideal. Your automation department quickly devolves with repetitive tech maintenance. The ideal third option would be a system that allowed you to consistently and swiftly transfer automation cell activities without requiring you to reprogram your robot arms for different projects.
6 Ways the AFS Mitigates Setup Time and Cost
Instead of building multiple automation cell worktables or slowly rebuilding and reassigning your robot arms, we want to show you how each engineering choice in the Automation Fixture System allows you the options of multiple automation cells using one plate.
1: Preset Threaded Holes
The AFS plates have threaded holes predrilled for standard aluminum threading options.
- Consistent hole spacing and profiles allows for quick point of reference fastening points you can reuse and reassign from previous programs.
- Compatible with common brand extrusion profiles such as 80/20, Bosch, Tslots, and more.
- Saves time on drilling, modifying workholding, and creating fixture points.
2: Wide Range of Plate Sizes
The AFS has plate range sizes between 200 x 300 mm and 600 x 900 mm in 100 mm increments.
- Variable sizes support workholding on a budget.
- Fits standard worktable configurations.
- Add multiple plates together for different workholding zones, fixtures, and accessories.
3: Conical Locators
Custom conicals on 50 mm centers provide quick and consistent fastening.
- Maintains easy reference points to reassign exact automation cell and workholding locations.
- Prolongs the life of your plates by taking on the stresses of the workholding with easy cost effective replacement.
- Prevents offcenter workholding with multiple point of contact threading reinforcement.
4: Wide Range of Applications
Quickly reassign your automation cell for the most common low volume high mix applications in your manufacturing workshop.
- Compatible with industry standard bolt patterns for the mounting requirements of brands like UR, Fanuc, Dobot 5 and 10 series robots, and more.
- Compatible with our family of AFS and Vacuum Fixture Plate accessories for tricky workholding, CNC machining on small parts, and custom fixturing.
- Supports quick reassignment for common automation cell activities like robotic cutting, robotic drilling, robotic tapping, robotic adhesive dispensing, automated machine tending, automated packaging, automated palletizing, automated inspection, robotic assembly, automated de-gating, automated VHB, robotic box erecting, robotic pick and place, cobotic automation, and more.
Read more: See the Automation Fixture System in action on our Modular Robot System
5: Cuts Recurring Expenses
When you use an AFS in your manufacturing, you eliminate costs you pay on repeat.
- You eliminate the extra labor hours you lose to reprogramming the machine, reattaching the robot arm, and precisely readjusting your workholding every time reassign the automation cell, workholding activity, or fixturing project.
- You eliminate the need for multiple dedicated automation cell tables.
- You gain back the warehouse space taken up by automation cells in standby.
- You reduce the amount of workers needed to reassign your cells.
- You reduce the costs on automation table wear and maintenance.
- You reduce the risk of off center activities, bottlenecks, and programming errors.
6: Boosts Your Opportunities to Scale
The efficient engineering options of the AFS give you the freedom to pursue your growth.
- Lower costs, less labor commitment, efficient use of warehouse space, and shorter automation cell, workholding activity, and fixturing reassignment means more capital for investment.
- Every AFS active on your floor can support multiple high mix low volume activities.
- An AFS scales into additional high mix low volume activities or can act as a bridge to turnkey industrial automation investment.
Unshackling Your Business With an Automation Fixture System
If saving on automation, labor, effort, time, and money sound good to you, then try out an Automation Fixture System today. Tell us more about your project, schedule a virtual meeting, call (262)-622-6104, or check out our Automation Fixture System Product Page to discover how we can put swift automated cell reassignment for your production manufacturing capacity to work for a fraction of the price.
About the Authors:
Matt Moseman leads as President of DEVELOP, with a strong foundation from the Milwaukee School of Engineering, where he earned both a Bachelor’s and a Master’s in New Product Management. Moseman’s career highlights include his pivotal role in founding NodeUDesign, innovating in automation hardware, and driving DEVELOP LLC to the forefront of industrial robotics with a focus on enhancing productivity and efficiency.
Sean McKittrick, as Project Program Coordinator at DEVELOP LLC, brings a multifaceted background from Knox College. McKittrick’s first year at DEVELOP LLC has been marked by significant team growth and zero turnover, showcasing his ability to build a collaborative and effective work environment. His experience spans quality management in healthcare software to managing production for a million pounds of material monthly, highlighting his diverse expertise in project coordination and manufacturing excellence.