Listen to this text  |
Ruland Manufacturing has chosen Flexxbotics FlexxCORE expertise for its robotic machine tending wants. | Source: Flexxbotics
Flexxbotics, which delivers workcell digitalization for robot-driven manufacturing, as we speak introduced that Ruland Manufacturing Co. has chosen it to ship autonomous course of management in its FANUC RoboDrill workcells. The firms stated the challenge’s aim is to attain “lights out” operations.
The machine-tending system from Flexxbotics permits Ruland’s collaborative robots from Universal Robots to speak immediately with its FANUC RoboDrill equipment and Renishaw inspection probes. The cobots join to those probes to examine the half after machining so it could actually make adjustments to account for device put on and different elements, stated Flexxbotics.
With the FlexxCORE system, Ruland can obtain steady operation and better utilization, claimed the Boston-based firm. Flexxbotics added that it supplies the flexibility to dynamically change jobs in workcells, decreasing the changeover time from over an hour to only one minute.
“One of the challenges we’ve had with earlier automation tasks has been the complexity of the robot-to-machine interfacing, which Flexxbotics solves,” stated Dustin Vinci, engineering supervisor at Ruland Manufacturing, in a launch. “What’s nice in regards to the Flexxbotics answer is the whole coordination of our robots with our CNC machines and inspection gear for direct suggestions and autonomous changes, enabling 24/7 manufacturing.”
Why Ruland selected Flexxbotics
Founded in 1937, Ruland is a precision producer of high-performance shaft collars, inflexible couplings, and movement management couplings. These can be utilized for functions together with medical gadgets, robotics, machine instruments, semiconductors, meals, and packaging.
Ruland stated it determined to make use of Flexxbotics expertise for quite a lot of causes. First, it supplies in-line inspection for precision high quality, 100% half protection, and closed-loop optimization for uninterrupted manufacturing.
The firm additionally supplies automated configuration and program loading of robots, CNC machines, and inspection gear for every job. The FlexxCORE system features a dynamic changeover course of for over 100 SKUs with solely three in-feed half presentation fixtures.
In addition, Flexxbotics stated it supplies sensible workflows with contextualized step-by-step directions. These directions are primarily based on the CNC machine and robotic’s standing at failure for error decision. This approach, technicians or operators know precisely what went unsuitable.
Ruland was additionally within the firm’s open connectivity and interoperability between robots, CNC controllers, completely different inspection gear, and IT and enterprise methods. Finally, Flexxbotics stated it supplies extensibility to quite a few workcell configurations, inspection applied sciences, and equipment varieties together with Haas and Brothers CNCs, together with numerous shelling out machine choices.
“With Flexxbotics, we’ve got achieved our 80% utilization aim for our FANUC RoboDrill cells in lower than 90 days,” Vinci stated. “The optimization course of that Flexxbotics supplies has been invaluable
FlexxCORE the ‘spine’ of the sensible manufacturing facility
Flexxbotics’ workcell digitalization expertise delivers autonomous course of management for machining environments using robotics. The firm’s flagship product, the FlexxCORE expertise, connects and coordinates robots with current automation gear, IT methods, and folks.
“We perceive the complexity concerned in transitioning to next-generation machining operations and the need for superior robotic machine tending,” acknowledged Tyler Bouchard, founder and CEO of Flexxbotics. “What we’re doing at Flexxbotics is enabling the world’s most subtle sensible manufacturing facility environments to embrace robot-driven manufacturing at scale.”
The firm lately teamed up with Vention to launch a mixed machine-tending providing. The companions claimed that prospects can now profit from the mix of Flexxbotics’ system with Vention‘s MAP providing.
Customers can now use Vention’s cloud-robotic instruments and modular automation {hardware} to design customized workcells, whereas additionally benefiting from Flexxbotics’ software-as-a-service/hybrid system.
