Bringing Robotics Into Photonics for Lights-Out Automation

Allegiant 3D partnered with Waybo to bring advanced robotics into its photonics manufacturing workflow, automating a complex machining process to achieve true lights out production.

From Engineering Expertise to Scalable Production

Every machine shop is different, as the demands of varied industry segments require different approaches to problem-solving. One Canadian manufacturer began as an engineering firm with the vision to help customers design products while keeping the manufacturing process in mind from the start. This company developed into a strong team of engineers capable of manufacturing the parts they designed in-house. However, the shop needed a hand from a robotics supplier to hit the production levels needed for its customers.

Founded in 2016, Allegiant 3D is an engineering and manufacturing firm based in Quebec, Canada. It has built its reputation in the photonics sector by producing both precision components and complete assemblies. Drawing on its team’s decades of design experience in the photonics industry, the company works with customers to design and manufacture solutions to the challenges they face. Due to the company consisting of around 10 people, it leverages technology to fulfill its customers’ needs. In one particular case, this meant turning to automation to produce a part at the rate needed by the customer.

Allegiant 3D designs and manufacturers complex, precision parts for the photonics industry.

A High-Volume Challenge That Required Automation

The job in question was a high-volume prismatic part that required machining on all six faces. To accomplish this, Allegiant 3D invested in a Matsuura MX520 five-axis machine that needed to run 24/7, which is a major hurdle for a company too small to run two extra shifts for one job. Rather than spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on new machine tools to triple its production speed, the company opted to invest in a Waybo solution: The CyberDrawers.

Allegiant 3D implemented The CyberDrawers system paired with a Matsuura CNC Machine.

Why Allegiant 3D Chose Waybo’s CyberDrawers

Waybo is an automation supplier that provides a variety of standard automation systems specifically designed for easy integration with different machine tool setups. Users can attach one of these standard systems to an existing machine tool and begin producing parts 24/7. “Using a standard system will give you lots of benefits,” says Waybo President Jean-Sebastien Neveu. “You know the process; you know the sequences. It’s something real and proven that we’ve already done before.”

Waybo systems offer an intuitive turnkey solution for automation machining operations.

The Waybo CyberDrawers is a compact, turnkey solution that includes a KUKA robotic arm attached to a system of drawers and a controller. The drawers can contain a range of end effectors and workpieces, which enables the user to efficiently connect the CyberDrawers to any machine tool with minimal setup or disruption to the rest of the shop. The KR CYBERTECH robot arm can open the drawers to retrieve and return workpieces or switch out end effectors according to the specific job’s needs, making it an ideal, compact solution for a wide range of machining centers.

Robotic Integration That Delivers 24/7 Throughput

“The main challenge for building a standard solution is making it as flexible as possible to handle any customer request,” Neveu explains. “I asked a lot of KUKA: I needed the robot to work, I needed it to be easy so that anyone could program it, and I needed support for the customer. KUKA exceeded all those expectations.”

Jean-Sebastien Neveu shows the ease of use offered by Waybo machine tending cells.

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A Proven Automation Model for Small to Medium Machine Shops

Allegiant 3D set up the Matsuura machine with two vises and used a Waybo end effector with three grippers on the KUKA robotic arm. This enabled the robot to pull a workpiece from a drawer, load it onto the first vise for initial machining, then flip it to finish the remaining faces on the second vise. Finally, the robot removes the completed part from the machine and places it into a drawer, all steps taken without human intervention. Human attendants can switch out completed parts for fresh blanks regularly, while the KUKA and Matsuura handle the rest.

The Cyberdrawers machine tending system include KUKA's KR CYBERTECH industrial robot for loading and unloading of parts.

For Allegiant 3D, this was a complete success. The machine cell has run 24/7 for nine months straight with no signs of slowing down, and throughput has increased from 80-90 parts per week to 120, all thanks to the reliability of the KUKA robot and compact design of the CyberDrawers. The lack of human intervention has also removed user error from the equation, which meant Waybo not only helped the company reach its target production rate but also reduced the likelihood of errors creeping into the process.

The KR CYBERTECH robot features end of arm tooling for opening and closing the drawer system and machine tool, and loading and unloading parts.

For many shops, automation can seem like an unreachable goal, even for reasons as simple as not having the physical space to house a robot arm in a large cage. “Robotics were not initially made for small shops to partake in,” Neveu says, “but my challenge was to bring robotics to a small shop, and I can say with confidence that we achieved it.” With Allegiant 3D planning to purchase more of these innovative automation cells, it seems that the customer agrees.