Client: A leading tier-1 manufacturer, well-known in the industry.
Application: Automated screw driving using TM AI Cobot
Challenge: Precision and efficiency are paramount in the highly competitive manufacturing industry. The client faced multiple challenges in their manual screw-driving process:
- Manually locking screws can easily cause product defects.
- Screw locking requires extremely high precision.
- High labor costs.
- Difficulty in improving product yield.
- Additional production costs.
Misaligned screws could lead to product defects, increased rework, and higher production costs. The client needed a reliable, automated solution to enhance their manufacturing process, reduce errors, and improve overall productivity.
Solution: To address these challenges, they chose to implement TM AI Cobot into their factory for screw driving automation. The key components of the solution included:
- TM AI Cobot: A collaborative robot designed for high precision and efficiency.
- AI Vision: When the screwdriver is magnetically attracting screws, the cobot’s built-in vision system is utilized to detect screw alignment and prevent misalignment during the locking process.
- Mirror Reflection Technique: Screws’ postures were reflected off a mirror into an eye-in-hand camera to determine if their alignment is correct.
By using the built-in AI vision system of the arm and the mirror reflection of nearby equipment, the solution ensured that the screws were correctly locked. It also allowed for the timely discovery of screw misalignments and defects, improving assembly quality and reducing unnecessary manpower investment and production costs.
Results: The implementation of the cobot arm brought significant improvements to the client’s manufacturing process:
- Increased Precision: The AI vision system effectively detected and corrected misaligned screws, ensuring accurate screw driving.
- Enhanced Efficiency: Automation reduced manual intervention, speeding up the assembly process and increasing production throughput.
- Reduced Errors: The incidence of misaligned screws and resulting defects was drastically reduced, leading to higher product quality.
- Cost Savings: Reducing rework and waste translated to significant cost savings for the client.
- Improved Productivity: The client experienced a notable boost in overall productivity, enabling them to meet market demands more effectively.
The successful implementation of TM AI Cobot for automated screw driving demonstrates the transformative impact of AI and robotics in manufacturing. By addressing the challenges of precision and efficiency, Techman Robot has empowered the client to achieve higher standards of quality and productivity, setting a new benchmark in the manufacturing industry.