Rubber Belts Pick and Place by JAKA Zu 12 Cobots
About the Company
The business scope of the company includes the manufacture, processing, and sales of synthetic rubber, rubber products and synthetic resin products, and their accessories, as well as the import, export and wholesale of the above-mentioned similar products, and provides related consulting and services. The main products are various drive belts for automobile engines, automobile air conditioners, agricultural machinery and motorcycles. At present, the customer base includes Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Suzuki, etc., as well as world-renowned car manufacturers such as GM, Volkswagen, and Beijing Hyundai.
Company’s Challenges
The company has a process wherein a constant supply of rubber belts must be tested and processed, moving them one by one from the machine that supplies the belts, a testing machine, a processing machine, and a pillar that’s used for stacking them, in a very confined space. It required up to two manual workers per shift, and was physically demanding, requiring the workers to stand on the spot for hours, in a noisy environment. However, due to the tiny amount of space available, and speed and dexterity required, the company faced a challenge to automate the process.
Solution
With traditional industrial robots not suitable, the company turned to cobots. Three JAKA Zu 12 units were fitted, each with its own working area.
Thanks to their compact and flexible nature, they could be mounted in the middle of the machines, and still manipulate the rubber belts in the ways that the various steps required.
They truly demonstrated the dexterity of a human worker, taking over the dull, repetitive task, and performing it non-stop.
Results
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The fear of a negative affect on the production cycle was soundly overcome, as production efficiency increased by 25% following the JAKA Zu 12 units’ installation.
- Right now, each cobot can process 1,453 pieces in 10h30, and this could be further increased, as the cobots are capable of performing the action 24 hours a day.
- The automation of this picking and placing task meant that the manufacturer could reduce the number of workers having to endure a noise, difficult production line, moving them to safer, more complicated and rewarding tasks.
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Info
Address
JAKA Robotics
Siemensstrasse 2 – 4,
90766 Fuerth
Germany