Becker Romania boosts productivity by automating assembly tasks

Becker Romania

In short

The furniture company Becker Romania manufactures molded beech veneer elements. To increase the efficiency of the repetitive work processes without affecting the quality of the final product, Becker Romania has implemented two UR10 cobots. The collaborative robots handle glue dispensing and pick and place tasks carried out in Becker’s production unit, where over 10,000 cubic meters of beech wood are processed annually.

The challenge

Becker Romania was facing the difficulty of finding qualified people for the production processes in its factory, prompting the company to look into automation. The company wanted a collaborative automation setup in which people and newly integrated solutions work together to increase productivity efficiency in the assembly process. Becker also sought to improve the work environment for employees who were to take on more engaging and creative tasks.

Becker Romania

Industry Furniture and Equipment

Country Romania

Number of Employees 100-500

Cobot used UR10

Watch how the UR10 collaborative robots effortlessly dispense glue along curved veneer, then picks and place the product for further assembly

Easy programming and tech support

The two UR10 cobots integrated in the process of assembling mirrors work in tandem, as the first UR10 dispenses adhesive to the product frame, followed by the second UR10 placing another part, a ring segment, on top of the glue over the glass. Programming the cobots was easy and quick. From the UR interface, the company used the predefined program CircleMove with a relatively free orientation towards the circle.

The technical support provided by Universal Robots also played an important role in the successful integration of the cobots. "On the Universal Robot website you can find all the information you need, even backup files for the programs developed that are easy to save through the magic files on the website, and for the software updates. There is a whole community behind it, ready to help you with the answers you need,” Remus Țopan added.

Collaboration for smooth assembly

The company is currently using human operators working alongside the two collaborative robots to assemble one of its products. The operators add the frame, the glass and empty the carousel during the assembly process of the mirrors. The first cobot uses a soldering gun to add adhesive in the desired place. When the times come for the adhesive to be changed, one of the operators is informed of this aspect through a special program created using a global variable and a consumption rule. "After calculating the consumption norm, we created a global "installation variable" that remains saved even if the robot is turned off. By checking it at the beginning of each program, the variable tells us if the adhesive in the tube has reached the end. When it reaches 0 the program calls a subprogram that moves the robot arm to a position that allows operators to easily change the adhesive,” explained Remus.

UR collaborative robots are easy to be programmed, you don't need advanced computer and automation knowledge. Anyone with minimal technical knowledge can successfully make applications with these cobots. We accomplished the actual programming without problems in one day

Remus Țopan, Technical Engineer, Becker Romania

Suction cup gripper does pick and place

The second UR10 uses a gripper with suction cups that is easy and quick to assemble and adjust with which it picks the second part from a semi-automatic feeding unit and places it over the adhesive. All automation and sensors have been added to the cobot's control box, making it very easy to program. Proximity sensors were used to detect the frame and photoelectric sensors to detect the ring segment in the warehouse. The interconnection with the UR10 cobots is made with the help of a PLC that also controls the operation of the carousel, through analog signals transmitted bidirectional.

A variety of improvements

For Becker Romania the UR cobots have significant improvements in the products assembly quality, enabling control of the applications and the repeatability of the operations. Another benefit is the flexibility of the cobots which are perfect for redeploying on other tasks if necessary, an aspect Becker considers to be a competitive advantage. Considering the redeploying of cobots, in the present the company has an UR16 robot in testing phase for brushing surfaces.

Automation challenges solved:

Staying competitive by keeping and lowering manufacturing costs

Deployment of automation technology to support the defined automation plan

Need for standard as well as specific end-effectors

Reducing potential risks of dangerous manufacturing processes in the factor

Key value drivers:

Repeatability of the operations, incl. consistency in glue dispensing and accurate part placement

Maintaining high quality of manufactured components

Fast deployment of UR cobots in operation

No need for safety guarding in the factory

User-friendly programming of the collaborative robots

Flexibility to satisfy all customer requirements

ROI: 2-3 years

Tasks solved by collaborative robots

Assembly

Glue dispensing

Pick and place

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