UR10 cobots reduce failure rates and increases production efficiency

HIHHT deployed two UR10 robots in its induction hardening heat treatment process, putting the untreated automotive component into the treatment machine and then removing the treated component to a conveyer belt. Under the government-funded program, HIHHT worked with Universal Robots partner HRT Systems, which delivered the system as a turn-key solution. However, the high-mix/low-volume production line required employees to be familiar with the robots to adapt them for future use. This made the cobots’ ease of programming and use a significant benefit. It takes only about a month to train employees with no previous robotic experience. Now, those employees need only 30 to 60 minutes to “teach” the robots to process new components. As a result, HIHHT’s product failure rate decreased from 0.03% to 0.01% and production efficiency increased by 31%. Furthermore, the company was able to hire two more employees. The expected ROI for the cobots is just one-and-a-half years.