JAKA Cobots for Loading and Unloading of Mobile Screens
About the Company
A leading worldwide technology manufacturer providing critical components for IoT intelligence, with a special focus on Telecommunication Equipment and Metal Precision, LED technologies and Interconnect solutions.
Company’s Challenges
For a company working in 3C electronics manufacturing, efficiency and accuracy are key. Areas of production that require repetitive, dull procedures present a much higher level of risk in both of these areas when tasks are carried out by humans.
For the company, there was one particular task on the assembly line that was reliably producing errors. The task was simple: taking a phone screen from a conveyor belt, placing it on a loading platform inside a laminating machine, waiting for the laminating machine to present a fresh loading platform, and then doing the same, again and again. It required two shifts for two people.
Solution
Deciding to automate the process, thereby freeing up the human workers to perform a task that’s less repetitive, the company chose the JAKA Zu 3 collaborative robot. There were a few motivations behind this decision:
1st – small footprint and flexibility. Unlike much traditional automation equipment, the Zu 3 is compact and light, and can be installed on virtually any stable surface. The space around the workstation was very tight, and transferring the phones from the conveyor to the laminator required a flexible, extensible arm.
2nd – ease of use. The company was mindful that with time, tasks like this may change slightly, and the configuration of the robot would need to easily adapt. The JAKA Zu 3 was chosen because it is easy to teach. Any operator, with or without prior programming experience, can assign new tasks simply by dragging the arm to desired positions, and using an APP with an intuitive interface to record the process.
3rd – fast payback. With two workers, and two shifts per day, this task was not low-cost. By adopting the use of the cobot instead, the company would have a payback period – the time needed to make up for the initial investment – of under a year.
After integrating the cobot, the operation now follows these steps: first, the cobot picks up two screens from the conveyor, holds them over a camera for automatic inspection, then places them on the loading platform, and returns to the original position, ready to go again.
Results
- While it was calculated that the payback period would be less than a year, it in fact took significantly less time than expected. It took only seven months
- The two employees were freed up from manual, repetitive work to focus on more creative and intellectually fulfilling tasks
- The cobot was able to increase efficiency and eliminate errors, as is vital for the 3C electronics industry
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Info
Address
Building 33-35, 610,
Jianchuan Road, Minhang District,
Shanghai, China.