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Cobots Helping with Staff Shortages<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe new process technologies we\u2019ve adopted here, including our most recent addition of IMRs, have been essential to our sustained market competitiveness,\u201d said Roy Schroeder, Vice President of Lead Center Fluid Power Automotive at the Findlay site. \u201cThis technology benefits our operations by eliminating undesirable, non-value-added work such as moving product, frees up our employees to handle more value-added activities, and maintains consistent product quality.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the height of the Covid pandemic in 2020, worker recruitment challenges became a prevalent issue for many manufacturing facilities, including Freudenberg\u2019s Findlay facility, where difficulties hiring manufacturing floor operators became the impetus for a new strategy: the Findlay team began pilot testing cobots to carry out repeated, stationary tasks within a work cell on the plant floor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Due to the pilot\u2019s success, the site not only invested in 14 additional cobots over the course of 2021 and 2022 but also added AMRs to the mix. The cobots and AMRs performed very well and clearly addressed personnel shortages on the shop floor. But it wasn\u2019t until Findlay\u2019s robotics team took another step in 2023 \u2013 combining cobots and AMRs into single units \u2013 that the real \u00adpotential of such automated technology became clear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Findlay\u2019s IMRs, called the 10R 2.0, work with power conveyors and cobots to do all the tasks in a cell that operators used to do on every shift. The IMRs at Findlay have iRVision systems and are assigned to a specific cell. Two cobots move PTFE sleeves from two Wickert presses to oven trays on the power conveyors. The conveyors take the oven trays three meters to the ovens and bring them back to the main part of the cell after post-curing. The IMR moves the sintered PTFE sleeves from the oven trays to each of the four CNCs and does the normal work loop that an operator did per shift. Findlay\u2019s 10R 2.0 units facilitate a full cycle of part movement typically done by human operators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In designing the IMR, plant engineers created a \u201ctopper\u201d to anchor the cobot to the AMR. The topper also provides the unit with an accessible area where unifying electronics are located. Both robots are controlled by one universal PLC (programmable logic controller) integrated into the AMR frame. The plant has also integrated wireless charging stations within each cell to \u00adfacilitate continuous operating cycles without the need to stop and charge the IMR. This allows Findlay to operate with a single IMR continuously, as opposed to needing a fleet of units to \u00adsupport charging downtime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Investment is Paying Off<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Findlay\u2019s seven-digit investment in robotic technologies since 2020 has paid for itself in two years, said Ray Hartzell, Director of Engineering & Strategic Business Development at Findlay. Not only have the IMR units closed the gap on labor availability, but also has boosted plant productivity since 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs automation and connected technologies continue to rapidly evolve, we are committed to developing and deploying them to optimize operational performance, complementing the robust lean foundation we\u2019ve built over the years,\u201d he said. \u201cIn parallel, developing a cross-disciplined engineering team to leverage these new developments is a challenging and exciting process.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Findlay plans to dedicate more resources to the development of new robotic technologies going forward. The site also plans to share lessons learned with other Freudenberg Sealing Technologies facilities to ensure that investments are fully \u00adleveraged across the organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere are certainly applications where an IMR is the best technological choice. Other times, stationary cobots and other automation technologies may make more sense,\u201d Hartzell concluded. \u201cAs we continue to advance, we will look to sharing best practices and lessons learned with the entire organization. IMRs are another tool in our automation toolbox to continue to \u00adsuccessfully reduce waste and improve overall efficiencies in our daily operations.\u201d<\/p>\n