West Sussex based Wesbart, manufacturer aluminium and stainless-steel storage systems and laboratory consumables for laboratories, hospitals, universities and the pharmaceutical industry.
Recent increases in demand prompted the family run manufacturer, founded in 1979, to explore robotic process automation as a means to support process optimisation and product quality considerations.
The COVID-19 pandemic led to a surge in demand for Wesbart’s products. As manufacturing volumes increased, the manufacturer turned to automation, to manage multiple products through their production lines. A solution that could accelerate output, but sustain product quality, whilst meeting unprecedented demand was needed.
The system
Featuring two inbound conveyors, one outbound conveyor, vision capabilities and three KR AGILUS industrial robots, Wesbart worked with an KUKA UK system partner, to create a space saving system, that integrated into existing processes. Aluminium sheets are pre cut by machinists, placed on one of two inbound conveyors and delivered to the three robot cell. Integrated vision systems/cameras, enable the identification of the parts on the conveyor. The central robot can then pick off the conveyor using end of arm tooling, in this instance a vacuum gripper, and deliver the metal sheet into one of two holding trays, one left and one right, each being utilised by one of the three KR AGILUS industrial robots.
The process
Multiple folds are administered at each press. A robot shall take the part from the tray and deliver it to the press. After each fold, the robot retrieves the part, reconfigures it, and delivers it back to the brake press so subsequent folds can be executed. After the part has been successfully folded, to all applicable sides, it is placed back in the tray. From here, the robot operating in the middle takes the part and places it on the outbound conveyor where it shall be retrieved be an operator and assembled.
The processes at Wesbart have traditionally been heavily reliant upon manual labour. This solution has enabled them to introduce automated technology into their operations without compromising head count. This is a great use case of how an SME has augmented human labour, not replaced it. The system operates efficiently alongside human workers, enabling productivity increases.
