OPW identified its poppet assembly (inlet valve) as a task that could be handled by a UR5e cobot. The assembly requires multiple precise steps to maintain concentricity of all of the parts. Parts that weren’t assembled precisely were often found during final assembly, requiring extensive rework. The cobot now achieves consistent concentricity through the entire process and significantly increased first-pass assembly yield.
Cobots Build Integration Skills and Save Workers 50,000 Lifts, Bends and Twists per Year
OPW, A Dover Company
In Short
Fluid-handling manufacturer OPW, A Dover Company, bought a UR5e to build internal integration skills. The company quickly turned those skills into new applications from assembly to palletizing. The multiple precise assembly steps for a poppet (inlet valve) presented a prime target for significant quality and efficiency improvements with the UR5e. With success under their belts, the team turned to palletizing with a UR10e and then a UR20, saving employees 50,000 bends, twists, and lifts – and producing significant annual savings in safety and productivity gains.
The Business Investment
“We looked into automation for three reasons,” says Stephen Ciampanelli, director of operations for OPW Fluid Transfer Solutions, a segment of OPW, A Dover Company. “The first one being ergonomics—we want our employees to go home safely. The second one is waste reduction, like any manufacturing environment. And the third one is due to the post-pandemic labor shortages that all businesses are facing.” The company’s focus is to have employees add value in assembling and testing products to ensure that customers get the best product possible. Low-value-add, repetitive tasks such as stacking pallets and handling material were ideal targets for automation.
OPW, A Dover Company
Industry Metal and Machining
Country USA
Number of Employees 210 at this site
Cobot used UR5e, UR10e, UR20
Efficiency improvement opportunity leads to first cobot deployment
UR palletizers improve employee safety and productivity gains
After this success, OPW turned to palletizing. With more than 30 assembly cells—all of which require employees to stack pallets with boxes weighing up to 30 pounds—there was a clear opportunity. OPW started with a UR10e palletizer and then added a UR20 palletizer, which together save employees 50,000 bends, twists, and lifts per year. And the ergonomic improvements provide more benefits than just satisfied employees.
Ciampanelli says, “We're able to be more competitive when we're not relying on what employee is going to come in the door next. There's a lot of repetitiveness to our business, so if we can use automation solutions like the robots to take on those repetitive tasks, that allows us to take the people we have and use their skills for more value-added tasks for the business.”
How they did it
Training and support resources, intuitive programming plus extensive ecosystem delivers fast integration
The automation projects at OPW were successfully deployed internally despite limited robotics experience. The first robot was an investment in the company’s internal tool makers, to help them become integrators who could then deploy new solutions without the need for outside integrators.
Allied Automation and UR provided support and training resources to get the team up and running quickly. Several team members are ‘core certified’ through Allied Automation and Universal Robots and have also taken the free online UR Academy classes for the e-Series cobots.
Their success was boosted by the availability of standard accessories, tools, and grippers through the UR+ Marketplace. The interface for the UR+ end effectors is already fully integrated into the cobots’ teach pendant, allowing easy modifications and adjustments without programming.
Assembly robot handles multiple processes in single pass
The inverted assembly UR5e cobot is equipped with dual end-effectors – a gripper and a screwdriver – to handle multiple processes in one pass. The UR5e picks up a stem poppet and puts it into an air-actuated cylinder to center all the parts. After adding washers, a gasket, and another washer, the cobot applies Loctite from a sponge and then with a screwdriver attachment picks up a screw, dips it in Loctite, and screws it into the poppet to seal everything and keep it concentric. The cobot then activates a button to eject the poppet, pick it up, and put it into the finished goods box.
Two palletizing cobots meet specific needs
The palletizing application required much less integration than the assembly robot. Since the UR10e was the longest-reach UR cobot available at the time, the team modified the cobot for their needs to extend the cobot’s reach to stack as high as they needed.
When the new UR20 cobot arrived for the next palletizing cell, there was no need for the modification to meet reach and payload requirements. OPW was able to use the pre-defined palletizing patterns within the UR controller, making the process a breeze. The second palletizing cell with the UR20 has up to 25 sizes of boxes that are used on either side of the area. A proximity sensor identifies the box size and switches the program automatically, with no operator input needed.
Mike Grimm, OPW Fluid Transfer Solutions advanced manufacturing manager.We tell our other OPW counterparts that if there's any question, if there's any worry, just go ahead and take the leap of faith. It's not that difficult.
UR+ products used:
Screwdriver from OnRobot
Hand-E gripper from Robotiq
Cobot Palletizing Tool from Piab
FXCB Robot Set gripper from Schmalz
Automation challenges solved:
Internal integration team now has skills to deploy cobots quickly and effectively in house Challenging, multiple-step assembly is automated to handle all processes in a single robot step Multiple box sizes are palletized automatically, with no operator input needed
Key value drivers:
Significant improvements in assembly first-pass yield to reduce rework Palletizer saves employees 50,000 bends, twists, and lifts per year and $45,000 savings in productivity and safety costs Intuitive programming and extensive training resources build valuable internal skills Extensive UR+ Marketplace for standard accessories and tools with built-in interface in cobot teach pendant
Tasks solved by collaborative robots:
Multi-process poppet (inlet valve) assembly Palletizing multiple box sizes
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