Universal Robots is committed to providing a long-term solution in industrial automation by inventing game-changing collaborative robots, also known as cobots. These robots are incredibly adaptable, safe, and simple to program and control.
Collaborative automation improves manufacturing agility as cosmetic and medical product lifecycles shorten. Universal Robots’ robot arms help increase output, ensure consistent quality, and then quickly repurposed for other product lines. Cobots also maintain machines and conveyors, assemble gadgets and products accurately, and kit and package commodities into pallets, cartons, and blister packs.
In complex procedures and clean environs, collaborative robots can help limit the danger of human contamination. the robot is helpful in handling and assembling medical items and implants in a sterile, accurate manner. Robots can also free up people from dirty, loud, and high-vibration material handling occupations, allowing them to focus on higher-value tasks.
A Case Study of Cobot Use in the Medical and Cosmetic Sector
Coty Cosmetics
Sally Hansen, CoverGirl, and Rimmel are all brands owned by Coty, a global cosmetics corporation. Eight cobots on four movable carts at the Company’s Maryland factory now oversee the placement and packaging of items at the powder crushers. The mobile solution saves $500,000 per year while increasing quality inspection and employee working conditions.
The Problem
The difficulty was evident to the project manager at Coty Cosmetics. Having twelve pressing machines presented the challenge of cost-effectively automating such a vast operation. The Company chose to automate for various reasons, including increasing productivity and addressing the repetitiveness of the process, as it was not technically suitable for human operators. Coty had recently been looking into automating this task, but the tools present at the time couldn’t handle the application’s complexity.
The owner of Sydorko Automation was also facing the dilemma of discovering how to develop an automated system that is mobile enough to satisfy their automation demands while still being valuable sufficient to achieve their budgetary needs. Because conventional industrial robots are difficult to move because of safety concerns, Coty would have to permanently install a robot from each of the 12 pressings, which was out of budget.
The Solution
Sydorko instead turned to collaborative automation by giving the cobots from Universal Robots a try because they’re lightweight, convenient to use, low power, and could undoubtedly work inside the same setting as people.
Picking “godets”—metal pans carrying powder products—and arranging them on trays wrapped in boxes before being dispatched to the various department for further processing is part of the application. The powder undergoes pumping into the godets in the presses, then passes through a Cognex 3D profiler head for the surface’s inspections and volume measurement.
Whenever the platter is loaded, a UR5 picks it up and transports it to one of the five case spots where it is for placement. The UR5 collaborative robot then moves to the empty trays, picks one up, and lays it safely in the trays staging area, ready for more to drop next to the UR3 as it loads.
Benefits of Cobot Use in the Company
- Faster product changes for a diverse product mix
Mobile collaborative robots enable quick product changes for a diverse product mix. The cobot-based carts can now run up to ten different product “recipes” for various godet forms, which can run from round to rectangular or square, varying thickness and weights, and be one or two at a time.
It allowed a project to shift from being financially impossible to become feasible. The robot needed to be movable for the project to move forward. It takes to unhook, transport, and set up the digital robots at a new station is approximately 15 to 30 minutes.
- Faster ROI
Coty expects to save thousands of dollars per year due to this joint automation effort. The Company has found other benefits in addition to a strong return on investment. The environment where the cobots engage is gritty and rough, with the enormous presses causing a lot of vibration.
Coty may now pull employees away from these sources and reposition them to less monotonous and more exciting duties since the cobots work next to them.
Improved work atmosphere,
It allowed a project to shift from being financially impossible to become feasible. The robot needed to be movable for the project to move forward. It takes to unhook, transport, and set up the digital robots at a new station is approximately 15 to 30 minutes.
- Improved Efficiency and quality
That’s a significant transformation for the Company, with increased efficiency, and the team is quite enthusiastic about it.
The Cognex inspection system adds new quality initiatives to the automation cells. Previously, operators were responsible for a variety of tasks. Now all of that labor is done by a computer. Workers can immediately react when they notice something which needs to be improved.
- Maintain safety
Collaborative robots are capable of working with humans safely. On the other hand, Coty needed to push the robots’ speed and force beyond the coordinated range to accomplish specified production rates. Sydorko added light curtains and lightweight plexiglass protection to protect the operators.
The carts’ mobility is unaffected, but if an employee opens a door or enters an active region, the robots automatically slow down to a safe collaborating speed. The robots regain their maximum pace once the worker leaves the room or steps out from the light curtain.
Success comes from a collaborative integration process. Since the cobot system is working, the Coty team can administer it internally. The integrator engaged with is only a phone call away if any troubleshooting is needed. Currently, the Company is using the carts and is confident that it can troubleshoot almost all problems.
Conclusion
Designed to supplement rather than replace the skills of human personnel. Cobots continue to prove that they are safe for humans to work with, simple to operate, and inexpensive to integrate into the cosmetic workplace. As a result, they provide massive success in their manufacturing processes in various industries, including the Medical and Cosmetic Sectors.
Thomas Jackson is a dynamic and talented content writer at WonderWorldSpace.com, renowned for his engaging and informative articles. Beyond his professional pursuits in writing, Jack is also known for his deep passion for fitness, which not only shapes his lifestyle but also influences his work.