Sawyer uses the built-in camera system to recognize which part it needs to process first and places it in the grinding machine accordingly.

© Rethink Robotics

Like many other manufacturing companies, Cox Container has great difficulty in recruiting and retaining qualified specialists in the long term. In one work cell in particular, where two employees had to pack bottles, there were often bottlenecks: The pace of work was too fast for one employee, but still too slow to justify a second employee in the same cell.
The ideal solution to the problem for Cox Container was to use a collaborative robot in the cell: the cobot - specifically the Sawyer from Rethink Robotics - has since been supporting the individual employee in packing the bottles. Plant manager Gary Fox: "With Sawyer, we have reduced the number of staff required in this specific work cell by 50% and have been able to deploy three employees in other areas of the company as a result. This not only allows them to do more valuable and meaningful work. It also means the employees stay with us longer."

CNC production gains speed

Cobots like Sawyer are very well suited to CNC machine assembly: The work is monotonous and repetitive. This increases the likelihood of errors when loading and unloading the workpieces to be processed.

© Rethink Robotics

Change of scene: Fitzpatrick Manufacturing, a CNC contract manufacturer also based in the USA, uses the Sawyer collaborative robot at its plant in Sterling Heights in the US state of Michigan. The company was founded in 1952 and serves a wide range of industries including aerospace, automotive, medical devices and oil and gas.

The Fitzpatrick team knew that the choice of application for Sawyer would be critical to the success of the smart automation solution. Team Leader Jon Mutz: "We looked closely at the question of the right use of Sawyer, especially because it is difficult to predict which project to implement next in contract manufacturing. Sawyer's versatility ultimately allowed us to automate repetitive, monotonous tasks and free up our employees for more skilled and demanding work."

After the first half of the container has been filled with bottles, the Cobot independently selects and places a carton divider and continues its work in the second half.

© Rethink Robotics

Specifically, the robot helps Fitzpatrick Manufacturing to grind parts that serve as components for drive technology solutions. Such tasks require precise adherence to tolerances and involve many repetitive operations. Sawyer recognizes which part he needs to process first and loads the grinding machine accordingly. When the part is finished, the cobot removes it and loads another part into the machine. It then places the first part in the washing station. In the next step, Sawyer dries the workpiece on a blower unit before packing it in a box for dispatch.

Between 280 and 300 parts can be packed in this way without the intervention of an employee. This process takes between five and eight hours, so Sawyer can easily work overnight. When the employees start their shift the next day, the smart helper has already completed all the parts.

"When we started using Sawyer in production, the employees were a little reluctant at first," recalls Jon Mutz. "The older colleagues didn't quite know what to make of the new technology, while the younger staff were enthusiastic. From the moment our team realized that Sawyer was not there to replace their workforce, but to help them use their skills for more meaningful tasks, Sawyer was accepted and appreciated by everyone."

Author:
Darius Wilke is Director European Business at Rethink Robotics.