Homegrown Automation Makes Keeping Pace With Your Grinding Operations Simple and Easy
Today’s manufacturers understand that staying ahead of the competition requires pushing their equipment further with advanced automation technology. But who will install the automation system? Who can be trusted to service a custom solution? Where can manufacturers go with issues? How, in the end, can you realize the benefits of automation with the fewest headaches?
For all these questions and more, UNITED GRINDING Automation Solutions has the answers. Based at our North American headquarters in Miamisburg, Ohio, our automation experts design, build and manufacture industry-leading standard and custom automated systems. We test, integrate and perform runoff on our state-of-the-art production floor so there are no surprises when the machine is delivered, and we’re there to support you every step of the way after installation.
Already have a machine? Our US-based Automation Solutions team also specializes in machine retrofits, and many of our machines are sold with built-in automation interfaces ready for integration into a comprehensive range of gantry robots, palletized part loading solutions, vision inspection systems and more. Or, for many STUDER O.D. and I.D. cylindrical grinding machines, you may opt for our standard flexLoad automation system, an exceptionally productive part loading/unloading solution with the flexibility necessary for a multitude of secondary uses.
8 Reasons to Invest in flexLoad
- Increase productivity. A single flexLoad system running five days a week will improve productivity 33 percent per shift as compared to a human operator.
- Mitigate the effects of skilled labor shortages. By 2025, Deloitte estimates that 2 million jobs will go unfilled due to the widening skills gap. Automation extends the skills of the existing labor force, with flexLoad performing over 90 percent of the necessary labor on a machine per shift.
- Reduce or eliminate routine manual/labor-intensive tasks. Loading and unloading, gauging, conveyance and other manual tasks wastes the talents of skilled labor and prevents operators from creating value elsewhere in the production cell. Robots do the tedious work so operators can focus on what’s important.
- Improve worker safety. The fully integrated design of flexLoad ensures that the machine and the robot work together to keep operators safe. All doors, drawers and panels are interconnected, locking and unlocking as one. Plus, the robot remains within its dedicated enclosure, providing all the upsides of collaborative robots and none of the downsides.
- Improve product quality. Repeatability and consistency are two of the most important factors in part quality, and flexLoad makes them non-issues. Our robots do the same thing, every time, ensuring a fully automated, repeatable process.
- Eliminate manual fatigue from repetitive tasks. Robots never need to sleep and never get exhausted – they don’t even need the lights on to do their work. They also can’t be hurt, making flexLoad the perfect solution for hazardous grinding operations.
- Improved data collection. Integrated sensors in end-of-arm tooling can perform numerous secondary data collection functions, while the consistency of automated steps in a process make it easy to seek out remaining inconsistencies with visual inspection systems.
- Reduced manufacturing costs. According to calculations based on data from the Robotics Industries Association, installing a single flexLoad system and basic tooling instead of hiring an operator will save more than $1.5 million in labor costs and nearly $500,000 in productivity savings over 15 years.
