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MOTOMAN ROBOTICS (UK) LTD |
Press Release
ROBOTIC PRODUCTION OF SANITARY PRODUCTS COMBATS OVERSEAS COMPETITION
One British company that has firmly grasped the nettle of competing with low wage economies is well known sanitary ware manufacturer, Twyford Bathrooms, which automated a large part of its Alsager, Stoke-on-Trent factory in a project known internally as 'Titan'. The £1.5 million investment involved installing six cells based on Motoman robots to fettle and spray cast basins, pedestals, cisterns and closets before they are fired, a job that was previously carried out by 20 people.
Further capital is being spent on an automated guided vehicle (AGV) system for unmanned transportation of sprayed products to one of the kilns for firing. This part of the project is due to go live in the early part of 2005, at which stage affected staff will be redeployed onto other tasks in the factory. Payback on capital investment is anticipated within three years.
Eliminating manual operations from routine, high volume manufacture and at the same time maintaining product quality is crucial to competing with goods imported from the Far East and other countries where workers typically earn in a month what UK staff earn in a day or two. So Twyford set about benchmarking its operation against other European manufacturing sites owned by its parent group, Sanitec. Best practice was identified at the Bromola factory in Sweden and Twyford set about duplicating their operation where four cells for robotically spraying and fettling four varieties of white closet had been perfected.
At the Alsager site, a pilot robot cell was installed in Spring 2002 to evaluate a similar process. It was a step change for the company, as it was the first robot on site. The equipment closely mirrored the systems at Bromola, which also employ Motoman robots. A new production team was recruited and trained, and programs were written for the first parts destined to go through the system.
The cell was based on a Motoman UP165 6-axis, articulated-arm robot fitted with a seventh axis 'whirler' to enable better rotation of the gun for efficient glaze deposition. The robot gripper picks up a casting and presents it to a rotating linishing belt for sponging out any imperfections. The part is placed on a weigh station and then handled into a rotating fixture in the spray booth where a gun mounted alongside the gripper completes the glaze spraying. Afterwards, the gripper places the component for a second time onto the weigh station to check that the correct amount of glaze has been applied, after which it is transferred to a kiln trolley. The cycle takes between 2 and 3.5 minutes, depending on which product is being processed.
The factory operates round the clock, seven days a week, and the same product and colour will normally run for a 12-hour shift or longer. Changeover takes around 15 minutes for a different product, or 90 minutes if a colour change is involved, owing to the need to flush the glaze out of the pipework.
Following the successful pilot, installation of five further identical cells at Alsager has seen 48 variants across four Twyford product groups accommodated, as well as three colours in addition to white. Commented Des Askew, Manufacturing Engineering Manager at the Alsager site, "Stringent process control is essential when transferring procedures from operator to robot – there is no room for error. We have gained a wealth of knowledge as regards how best to supply glaze to, and recover it from, the cells. Much work has also been done on optimising programs and in endowing the robots with sufficient dexterity to spray the glaze for maximum coverage in the minimum time.
"This learning process is something that does not just happen overnight; we expect to have to continually develop our knowledge base and disciplines to meet our objectives. The opportunities are there to automate the process, reducing operator involvement and saving labour costs. In addition, there is a significant opportunity to reduce handling damage, cracks and glazing faults, improving the consistency of the finished product."
Titan will be complete when fettled and sprayed castings are transferred directly to kiln cars carried on the AGVs, replacing manual movement of wheeled trolleys. The Alsager site will then enter into a second phase of using robots to improve processes. A further £140,000 order placed on Motoman will form part of a project to automate casting cells. Targeted for completion by the end of 2004, new pressure casting machines will be demoulded by robots, which will then punch and finish the products, eliminating further manual operations. Again, it is expected that savings will result in a three-year payback on capital investment.
For More Information Contact:
Motoman Robotics (UK) Ltd
Johnson Park, Wildmere Road, Banbury, Oxon OX16 3JU
Tel: 01295 272755
FAX: 01295 267127
E-mail:
information@motoman.co.uk